GIFT  or 

Rev,   R&ii)h.  Kxxnt 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/altarpriestOOyorkrich 


ALTAR  AND  PRIEST 


^/^     I    I     J" ' '  -*  >  V,  ; '  I  '  n ', 


ALTAR  AND 
PRIEST 


9f-p-^ 


BY 


REV.  P.  C.  YORKE,  D.  D. 


San  Francisco: 

The  Text  Book  Publishing  Company 

641  Stevenson  Street 

1913 


(if      ^ 


To  the  Memory 

of  the 

REV,  PETER  S,  CASEY, 

Pastor  of  St,  Peter  s  Church,  San  Francisco, 

California. 

Faithful  Priest;    Kindly  Gentleman; 

True  Friend. 


797996 


Imprimatur 

^  PATRITIUS  G.  RIORDAN,  D.  D. 

Archiepiscopus  Sti.  Francisci 

Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1913 

By  P.  C.  YORKE 
In  the  office  of  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


»57 


CONTENTS 

Page 

The  Island  of  Saints 9 

The  Return  of  the  Ark  . 

.      51 

The  Army  of  God     .    .    . 

•      75 

The  Beauty  of  Holiness   . 

89 

The  Secular  Conflict  .    . 

.  Ill 

Country  Life 

•  135 

The  Apostolic  Choir    .    . 

•  159 

Thus  Saith  the  Lord   .    . 

177 

Dignity  of  the  Priesthood 

197 

The  Altar  of  God    .    .    . 

217 

Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God 

245 

The  Faithful  Servant     . 

265 

The  Good  Shepherd     .    . 

281 

As  A  Little  Child    .    .    . 

297 

Father  and  Friend   .    .    . 

315 

ALTAR  AND  PRIEST 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SAINTS 


The  Colden  Jubilee  of  the  Augustinian  Churchy 
Calivayf,  Ireland,  Sunday,  August  27,  1905. 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SAINTS 

When  the  Lord  turned  again  the  captivity 

of  Sion, 
We  became  like  men  consoled. 
Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  gladness, 
And  our  tongue  with  joy. 

Then  shall  they  say  among  the  nations : 
The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  them, 
The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us ; 
We  are  become  joyful. 

Turn  again  our  captivity,  O  Lord, 
As  a  river  in  the  south. 
They  that  sow  in  tears 
Shall  reap  in  joy. 

They  went  forth  on  their  way,  and  wept. 
Scattering  their  seed. 
Coming,  shall  they  come  with  joy. 
Bearing  their  sheaves. — Psalm  cxxv. 

We  read  in  Holy  Writ  that  God  com- 
manded the  Jews  to  celebrate  every  year 
their  deliverance  from  the  slavery  of  Egypt. 
The  people  met,  family  by  family,  at  the 
supper  table  and  ate  the  same  fare  their 
fathers  ate  the  night  the  destroying  angel 


12  Altar  and  Priest 

passed  over  the  land  and  slew  every  first 
born  in  the  tents  of  Cham.  During  the  meal 
it  was  part  of  the  ritual  that  the  son  should 
ask  his  father  the  meaning  of  the  feast.  The 
father  in  reply  recited  the  great  things  the 
Lord  had  done  for  His  people — how  with  a 
strong  hand  and  an  outstretched  arm  He 
had  brought  them  out  of  the  house  of  bond- 
age, and  how  He  had  commanded  the 
fathers  that  they  should  declare  His  praises 
and  His  wonders  and  His  might  to  their 
children,  that  another  generation  might 
know  them  and  tell  them  to  their  children 
in  order  that  they  might  set  their  hope  in 
God  and  seek  after  His  commandments. 

So  to-day  when  we  gather  with  special 
pomp  in  this  church  around  this  altar, 
whereon  is  celebrated  the  great  sacrifice  of 
which  the  Passover  was  the  prophecy,  your 
children  may  well  ask  you  the  significance 
of  the  festival.  I  esteem  it  a  great  honor 
that  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Augustinian 
Fathers,  and  the  kindness  of  your  devoted 
and  distinguished  Bishop,  it  has  been  given 
to  me  to  recite  the  answer — an  answer  that 
requires  no  human  words  to  enhance  it,  for 
it  is  as  full  of  the  might  and  mercy  of  our 


The  Island  of  Saints  13 

God  displayed  towards  us  and  our  fathers, 
as  is  that  olden  story  of  the  chosen  people 
when  He  brought  them  out  of  darkness  and 
brake  their  bonds  asunder. 

To-day,  then,  we  celebrate  the  fact  that 
fifty  years  ago  the  foundation  stone  of  this 
church  dedicated  to  St.  Augustine  was  laid. 
Fifty  years  may  seem  a  short  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Augustinian  Friars,  whose  minis- 
trations in  this  town  have  continued  for  nigh 
seven  hundred,  and  one  church  the  more 
may  appear  of  little  consequence  in  a  city 
that  boasts  so  many.  But  it  is  not  the  build- 
ing alone  that  renders  the  occasion  signifi- 
cant, nor  the  mere  lapse  of  years.  It  is  the 
circumstances  that  surrounded  its  incep- 
tion, it  is  the  long  history  to  which  it  is  a 
witness  that  make  its  very  stones  eloquent. 
For  we,  too,  are  the  children  of  the  cap- 
tivity, and  our  fathers  were  fed  with  the 
bread  of  tears.  We,  too,  have  experienced 
the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  and  have  beheld 
His  mighty  works.  We,  too,  have  come 
through  the  Red  Sea  of  persecution  and  the 
desert  of  hate,  and  from  this  monument, 
which  we  have  builded  to  the  name  of  our 
God,  we  strain  our  eyes,  like  Moses,  from 


14  Altar  and  Priest 

Phasga  to  behold  the  mountain  of  His  sanc- 
tuary in  that  promised  land  for  which  our 
fathers  longed  and  concerning  which  we 
daily  pray  that  He  may  grant  us  in  our  days 
to  enter  into  its  rest. 

It  is  not  necessary,  I  am  sure,  to  recapit- 
ulate for  you  the  history  of  that  wonderful 
man  from  whom  the  Augustinians  derive 
their  rule  and  their  name.  His  personality 
has  dominated  the  world  from  his  own  time, 
even  unto  ours.  The  story  of  his  wayward 
youth,  of  his  mother's  love,  of  his  conver- 
sion, he  has  told  us  in  words  that  can  never 
die.  Away  from  the  great  centers  of  Roman 
life  and  culture,  in  a  provincial  town,  he 
gave  his  genius  to  religion,  and  after  fifteen 
hundred  years  scholars  are  still  thinking 
his  thoughts  and  repeating  his  arguments. 

Neither  is  it  necessary  now  to  enquire  into 
the  vicissitudes  of  the  communities  that 
claim  descent  from  his  household.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  in  that  great  religious 
revival,  which  has  been  called  the  ^^Coming 
of  the  Friars,"  the  Augustinians  took  their 
place  with  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans 
in  renewing  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  said 
that  as  far  back  as  the  thirteenth  century  the 


The  Island  of  Saints  15 

Augustinians  were  established  on  that  long 
ridge  which  lies  between  the  city  and  Loch 
Antsaile,  and  is  known  to  us  now  as  Fort 
Hill.  The  destruction  of  our  domestic 
records  by  war  and  confiscation  makes  it 
impossible  for  us  to  supply  further  details 
concerning  that  foundation.  This  much, 
however,  is  beyond  dispute:  That  in  the 
year  1508  a  goodly  church  and  convent  were 
erected  for  the  Augustinians  on  that  part  of 
the  hill  now  occupied  by  the  old  graveyard. 
The  undertaking  was  due  to  the  generosity 
of  Margaret  Athy,  the  w^ife  of  Stephen 
Lynch  Fitzdominick,  for  many  years  Mayor 
of  Galway.  This  was  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  unfortunately  the 
sixteenth  century  was  to  see  the  great  re- 
ligious revolution  which  deluged  Europe  in 
blood  and  threw  back  the  progress  of  civi- 
lization for  three  hundred  years.  The 
church  and  convent  were  well  endowed,  and 
their  acres  stretched  for  miles  to  the  east 
and  turned  around  the  salt  estuary  to  Ren- 
more.  When  Henry  VHI.  began  his  career 
of  revolt  it  was  with  such  acres  as  these,  the 
patrimony  of  the  poor,  he  rewarded  his 
followers.    The  Augustinian  property  was 


1 6  Altar  and  Priest 

confiscated  by  him  in  common  with  the 
property  of  the  other  orders.  In  a  city  as 
Catholic  as  Galway  such  projects  of  spolia- 
tion were  not  easily  made  eflfective,  and  we 
read  that  during  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  years  of  its  existence  the  Abbey  of  Fort 
Hill  was  confiscated  four  times.  Yet, 
though  at  last  the  church  was  torn  down, 
though  the  sloping  meadows  and  the  noble 
roods  have  passed  into  other  hands, 
Fort  Hjll  itself  has  remained  inalienable. 
Around  the  deserted  sanctuary,  from  age 
to  age,  a  silent  army  has  kept  bivouac,  and 
has  held  it  for  you,  and  for  me,  and  for 
thousands  like  me,  who  from  far-off  shores 
look  back  to  it  as  holy  ground,  sanctified 
by  the  tender  memories  of  our  departed, 
consecrated  for  all  time  by  the  relics  of  our 
beloved  dead. 

The  final  destruction  of  the  church  was 
an  act  of  military  necessity  in  those  troub- 
lous times.  When  the  south  walls  of  Gal- 
way ran  from  the  river  to  the  square,  almost 
along  what  is  now  the  line  of  Merchant's 
road,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  harbor  and 
the  town  itself  were  at  the  mercy  of  a  strong 
fortress  on  the  opposite  hill.  Hence  the  Eng- 


The  Island  of  Saints  17 

lish  had  turned  the  church  into  a  fort  for 
the  first  forty  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. When  the  confederate  Catholics  came 
into  power  they  ordered  that  the  church 
should  be  demolished  in  order  to  secure  the 
safety  of  the  town.  This  edict  was  given  in 
1645,  but  was  not  carried  out  until  1652, 
and  then  with  the  consent  of  the  Friars  and 
the  agreement  that  the  city  would  build 
them  in  a  convenient  place  an  edifice 
equally  as  good.  But  the  precautions  taken 
for  the  safety  of  the  city  were  in  vain. 
The  curse  of  Cromwell  burst  over  the 
land,  and  the  hopes  of  the  Catholics  were 
drowned  in  blood.  During  the  short 
reign  of  James  II.  the  claim  of  the  Augus- 
tinians  to  compensation  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  grand  jury,  and  they  received 
the  use  of  the  old  court  house  as  a  tempo- 
rary chapel.  But  swiftly  came  the  Boyne, 
Aughrim  and  the  broken  treaty.  The 
tenth  article  of  Limerick  expressly  stipu- 
lated that  "the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of 
the  town  of  Galway  shall  have  private  ex- 
ercise of  their  religion,  and  the  said  clergy 
shall  be  protected  in  their  persons  and 
lands."    But  you  know  too  well  the  story  of 


1 8  Altar  and  Priest 

British  faith.  The  long  night  of  the  Penal 
Laws  settled  down  upon  the  island.  The 
Friars  were  banned,  and  the  same  price  was 
put  upon  their  heads  as  upon  the  head  of  a 
wolf.  Yet  they  did  not  desert  their  flocks. 
They  hid  in  garrets,  in  cellars,  on  the  moun- 
tain sides,  in  the  caves  of  the  earth,  in  the 
woods — they  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy.  The  staunch  Catholicism  of  the 
people  of  Galway,  it  is  true,  lightened  their 
lot,  and  a,t  the  slightest  relaxation  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  infamous  code  they  ven- 
tured out  of  their  hiding.  Already  in  1760 
they  built  on  this  very  spot  the  first  chapel 
put  up  in  Galway  since  the  persecutions. 
That  chapel  lasted  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years,  and  in  its  place  was  erected  this  splen- 
did edifice,  the  laying  of  whose  foundation 
stone  we  celebrate  to-day.  You  see,  then, 
the  significance  of  our  rejoicing.  In  the 
first  place  we  are  glad  that  what  our  enemies 
thought  was  done  so  thoroughly  is  now  un- 
done,' namely  the  destruction  of  the  Austin 
Friars  in  Galway.  Henry  and  Edward, 
Elizabeth  and  Cromwell,  William  of 
Orange  and  the  priesthunters,  all  are  gone, 
but  the  Friars  are  here.  In  the  second  place, 


The  Island  of  Saints  19 

we  are  taking  pride  in  what  the  learned  and 
cultured  among  us  condemn  as  criminal 
extravagance,  to-wit,  the  building  of  beau- 
tiful churches  in  a  poverty-stricken  country. 
We  willingly  take  our  stand  with  Margaret 
Athy's  husband,  who,  returning  from  a 
voyage  abroad,  and  finding  that  in  his  ab- 
sence she  had  erected  the  church  and 
steeple,  knelt  down  forthwith  on  the  strand 
and  thanked  God  for  inspiring  her  with 
the  generous  thought.  Lastly,  we  are  glad 
that  we  are  able  to  bind  on  more  tightly  that 
yoke  which  kings  and  nations  have  gathered 
together  to  cast  off,  namely,  the  discipline 
of  religion.  We  rejoice  in  the  foolishness 
of  the  Cross,  and  we  are  willing,  as  our 
forefathers  were,  to  go  through  the  fiery 
furnace  for  the  sake  of  Him  who  is 
our  only  Master,  Christ  Jesus,  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever. 

Taking  such  a  position  as  this,  it  becomes 
four  duty  to  justify  our  faith  and  to  render 
reason  for  our  service.'  And  indeed  the 
more  closely  we  study  the  past,  and  the 
more  deeply  we  look  into  the  heart  of  things 
in  the  present,  the  more  clearly  will  we  see 
that  our  course  is  not  the  result  of  irrational 


20  Altar  and  Priest 

prejudice,  but  is  guided  by  those  eternal 
verities  against  which  the  imagination  of 
men  devises  in  vain.  The  choice  that  was 
given  to  the  Irish  people  and  the  Irish 
clergy  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  no  new 
thing  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  nor  was 
it  then  offered  for  the  last  time.  Centuries 
before,  when  our  Lord  was  instructing  His 
disciples  for  their  world  work.  He  put 
clearly  before  them  the  new  power  He  was 
bringing. into  play  in  human  affairs,  and 
the  tremendous  resistance  it  should  evoke. 
That  new  power  was  the  realization  of 
the  value  of  the  human  soul.  As  on  the 
mountain  of  temptation  He  had  spurned 
Satan,  and  his  offer  of  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world,  so  His  followers  should  have  the 
same  choice,  and  were  bound  to  make  the 
same  renunciation.  ^^Fear  not  them,''  He 
cried,  **that  can  kill  the  body  but  can  not 
kill  the  soul.  Fear  ye,  rather,  Him  who 
can  cast  both  body  and  soul  into  hell. 
What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  soul:  or  what 
shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?" 
Here  was  the  proclamation  that  for  his 
soul's  sake  a  man  should  renounce  and  suf- 


The  Island  of  Saints  21 

fer  all  things.  Religion  or  the  bond  which 
unites  the  soul  to  God  is  henceforth  to  be 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  world.  The  dis- 
ciples would  be  mocked  and  scourged  and 
cast  out  of  the  synagogues  and  even  put  to 
death,  but  they  were  commanded  to  rejoice 
and  be  very  glad,  for  great  was  their  reward 
in  heaven. 

How  well  the  Apostles  learned  the  lesson 
appears  very  early  in  the  history  of  the 
Church.  When  Peter  and  John  were  for- 
bidden to  preach  the  name  of  Jesus  they 
answered,  ^We  must  obey  God  rather  than 
man."  The  Jews  scourged  them ;  but  they 
rejoiced  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to 
suffer  for  their  Master's  sake. 

The  great  Roman  empire  ranged  itself 
against  the  new  force.  The  citizen  be- 
longed to  the  state — body  and  soul — and 
who  were  those  foreign  preachers  that  pro- 
claimed a  divided  allegiance?  Caesar  per- 
sonified the  empire,  and  to  Caesar  belonged 
everything  in  the  heavens  above  and  the 
earth  beneath  land  the  waters  under  thie 
earth.  To  Caesar  Caesar's  and  to  God  God's 
had  no  meaning  for  the  Roman,  because 
Caesar  was  God.     Who,  then,  were  those 


22  Altar  and  Priest 

Christians  that  refused  to  offer  a  few  grains 
of  incense  to  the  divinity  of  the  emperor? 
They  could  only  be  traitors,  disloyal  men. 
So  began  that  age-long  appeal  to  loyalty 
as  against  principle.  Let  no  man  min- 
imize the  strength  of  the  appeal.  Loyalty 
is  one  of  the  basic  forces  of  our  nature,  and 
one  of  the  most  powerful.  It  is  true  that, 
like  the  kindred  word,  patriotism,  it  has 
fallen  on  evil  days,  and  has  been  degraded 
to  be  the. shibboleth  of  a  party.  But  in  its 
true  meaning  it  signifies  legality  or  obedi- 
ence to  a  just  law  and  devotion  to  the  just 
man  that  justly  administers  it.  Religion  did 
not  come  to  destroy  loyalty,  but  to  reinforce 
it.  There  is  a  higher  law  and  a  higher 
loyalty,  and  loyalty  to  God  and  loyalty  to 
principle  are  set  forever  by  the  Christian 
dispensation  above  loyalty  to  man  and  loy- 
alty to  expediency/ 

It  was  precisely  the  same  choice  that  was 
given  the  Irish  people  and  the  Irish  clergy 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  On  the  one 
side  was  set  the  favor  of  the  monarch ;  on 
the  other  the  claims  of  Christ.  The  English 
clergy  and  the  English  people  took  their 
stand  with  their  temporal  interests  and  their 


The  Island  of  Saints  23 

wordly  comfort;  the  Irish  people  preferred 
to  go  out  into  the  wilderness  rather  than 
sacrifice  the  faith  once  delivered  to  them  by 
Patrick.  In  the  beginning  this  was  no 
choice  influenced  by  political  or  by  national 
idiosyncrasy.  Galway  claimed  in  those 
days  to  be  an  English  town ;  its  laws  were 
English  laws;  its  religious  services  were 
after  the  English  use;  but  Galway  rejected 
the  religion  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  as 
thoroughly  and  as  sincerely  as  did  the  Gaels 
of  Kerry  or  the  children  of  Tirconnell  in 
the  fastnesses  of  Donegal. 

If  we  believe  that  the  soul  is  the  more 
valuable  part  of  man  and  that  religion  is  the 
greatest  thing  in  the  world,  we  must  believe 
that  the  Irish  did  right.  All  they  have  paid 
since  then  and  are  paying  to-day — the  con- 
fiscations, the  burnings,  the  massacres,  the 
grinding  slavery,  the  unjust  laws,  the  scorn 
and  contempt,  the  poverty,  the  emigration 
and  the  ways  of  the  world,  thick  with  the 
dying  and  the  dead  of  a  banished  people — 
all  those  things  were  of  little  matter  com- 
pared with  the  pearl  of  great  price  they 
purchased  the  day  they  refused  the  bidding 
of  England's  king. 


24  Altar  and  Priest 

To  whom,  it  is  our  duty  to  ask,  to  whom 
under  the  preventing  grace  of  God's  mercy 
was  due  the  decision  of  the  Irish  people? 
To  their  clergy  is  the  answer,  and  without 
making  unworthy  comparisons,  where  all 
served  so  well,  let  me  as  a  secular  priest  say 
it,  to  the  Friars.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the 
true  general  to  share  the  hardships  of  his 
soldiers.  It  was  not  the  custom  of  the  lead- 
ers of  the  Irish  in  days  gone  by  to  order 
their  people  to  do  that  which  they  were  not 
the  first  to  attempt.  They  were  willing  to 
be  first  in  privation  as  they  were  first  in 
place.  When  the  Friars  abandoned  their 
splendid  convents  and  their  broad  demesnes 
to  starve  on  the  mountain  side,  to  creep  in 
rain  and  storm  from  hut  to  hut  with  the 
ministrations  of  religion,  they  could  well 
say  to  their  people : 

^*What  doth  it  profit  you  to  gain  the 
whole  world  if  ye  lose  your  own  souls?  We 
have  made  a  great  renunciation,  and  we 
can  exhort  you  to  make  it,  too.  The  sleek 
bishops  of  the  state  church  enjoy  our  reve- 
nues, and  the  well-fed  clerks  of  the  Estab- 
lishment preach  from  our  pulpits,  but  we 
conjure  you  not  by  the  glory  of  the  world 


The  Island  of  Saints  25 

or  the  vain  words  of  human  philosophy. 
We  conjure  you  by  the  agony  and  passion, 
by  the  cross  and  dereliction,  by  the  death 
and  burial  of  Him  whose  wounds  we  bear 
and  in  whose  stripes  we  glory." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  people  so  spiritual 
as  the  Irish  clung  to  them?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  they  triumphed  over  the  worst 
efforts  of  the  gates  of  hell?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  they  preserved  the  souls  of 
their  flock  until  this  day,  and  is  it  any 
wonder  that  we,  the  children  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, rejoice  and  are  glad  that  it  has  been 
given  to  us  to  see  the  fruit  of  their  labor 
and  the  crowning  glory  of  all  their  toil? 

Not  only  did  they  preserve  religion  in 
this  island,  but  through  religion  they  pre- 
served nationality.  After  love  of  God 
comes  love  of  country,  and  it  was  through 
love  of  God  that  love  of  country  was  kept 
alive  in  this  land.  We  are  not  of  the  com- 
pany of  those  who  believe  that  our  nation- 
hood is  a  historical  fiction  and  our  country 
only  a  geographical  expression.  We  do  not 
belong  to  that  strange  sect  which  thinks  that 
for  anything  Irish  to  be  respectable  it  must 
be  at  least  a  thousand  years  dead.    We  hold 


26  Altar  and, Priest 

that  the  children  of  the  Gael  have  their  own 
place  among  the  nations  by  virtue  of  their 
contribution  to  civilization  and  their  deeds 
for  the  betterment  of  mankind.  This  is  a 
treasure  we  will  not  willingly  throw  away. 
By  every  means  the  nations  use  or  have 
laudably  used  we  mean  to  conserve  it — by 
political  action,  by  social  endeavor,  by  eco- 
nomic enterprise,  by  education — and  shall 
we  alone,  among  all  the  peoples  that  deserve 
to  be  free,  refuse  to  sing  the  song  of  David: 
(^lessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  who 
teache^h  my  hands  to  fight  and  my  fingers 
to  warr?' 

Moreover,  we  are  not  a  new  nation,  but 
an  old  nation ;  the  children  of  the  martyrs, 
the  heirs  of  the  saints  and  scholars.  There- 
fore, it  is  to  our  own  native  Gaelic  language 
we  look  as  the  symbol  of  our  legitimacy 
and  the  chief  preserver  of  our  national  iden- 
tity. It  is  not  the  least  service  the  Irish 
Friars  have  rendered  that  to  them  it  is  in 
no  small  part  due  that  the  Irish  language 
is  still  ours  to  cherish.  In  its  sweet  accents 
they  consoled  the  sick  and  blessed  the  dying. 
Hunted  and  persecuted  as  they  were,  they 
gathered  up  the  ancient  manuscripts  and 


The  Island  of  Saints  27 

committed  them  to  the  preservative  art  of 
print.  Surely  we  were  the  most  ungrateful 
people  in  the  world  were  we  unmindful  of 
such  services  as  these.  But  we  are  not  un- 
mindful. With  a  high  heart  to-day  I  salute 
you,  noble  sons  of  St.  Augustine,  and  in  the 
name  of  this  congregation  I  congratulate 
you.  Pray  God  every  moment  of  your  lives 
that  you  may  be  worthy  of  the  fathers  who 
have  begot  you  into  this  holy  institute  and 
have  left  you  this  glorious  heritage.  Let 
not  the  days  of  peace  unnerve  your  arms. 
Higher  things^await  you,  and  more  strenu- 
ous labors.  |Every  age  has  new  duties,  and 
every  generation  new  dangers.  Be  it  yours 
to  assume  those  duties  with  manly  hearts; 
be  it  yours  with  confident  bosoms  to  meet 
and  vanquish  those  dangers.  A  new  era 
opens  for  Ireland  in  religion  and  nation- 
ality^ Oh,  may  this  ancient  foundation,  this 
generous  community  realize  the  promise  of 
the  past  and  give  to  the  future  that  light  and 
leading  that  will  bring  back  to  our  beloved 
city  her  olden  fame  and  set  her  as  she  was 
before — an  incentive  to  our  land  in  the 
works  of  faith,  and  an  example  to  our 
people  in  the  deeds  of  patriotism! 


28  Altar  and  Priest 

When  the  choice  was  given  the  Irish  peo- 
ple between  religion  and  loyalty,  at  least 
there  was  some  dignity  in  the  alternative. 
Monarchs  have  been  able  so  to  win  the 
hearts  of  their  subjects  that  thousands  have 
been  ready  to  adventure  their  worldly 
goods,  aye,  their  very  lives,  in  the  royal 
cause.  History  is  full  of  examples  of  such 
chivalrous  loyalty,  and  therefore,  when  the 
great  struggle  came  between  Christ  and  the 
English  king,  he  was  able  to  appeal  to  a  not 
altogether  unworthy  motive.  But  to-day  the 
struggle  has  taken  another  form,  and  a  new 
choice  is  put  before  us.  The  cry  of  ^^God 
save  the  King"  has  been  abandoned  for  the 
cry  of  ^^God  save  our  stomachs."  In  days 
gone  by  it  was  our  religion  that  was  inimical 
to  good  citizenship ;  to-day  it  is  that  our  re- 
ligion is  an  enemy  to  prosperity.  If  we 
Irish  are  poor,  it  is  because  we  are  pious. 
We  have  built  too  many  and  too  beautiful 
ecclesiastical  edifices.  The  time  has  come 
when  we  must  abandon  the  monastery  for 
the  manufactory,  and  replace  the  church 
with  the  chimney. 

When,  therefore,  we  to-day  are  not 
ashamed  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  the 


The  Island  of  Saints  29 

building  of  this  beautiful  church  we  set  our- 
selves squarely  against  the  doctrines  of  this 
new  school.  The  preachers  of  those  doc- 
trines very  earnestly  profess  their  friend- 
ship for  us,  but,  so  far,  the  chief  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  their  affection  is  a  gen- 
erous disposition  to  fraternal  correction. 
We  have  long  memories.  Did  not  Henry  II. 
come  to  civilize  us,  and  Cromwell  to  save 
our  souls?  Hence,  even  though  they  be  sin^ 
cere,  and  sincere  they  may  well  be,  friend- 
ship and  good  intentions  cannot  permit  us 
to  let  pass  uncontradicted  a  doctrine  that  is 
false  in  fact  and  erroneous  in  philosophy. 

If  we  are  looking  for  the  real  causes  of 
Ireland's  backwardness  in  things  material, 
it  is  not  hard  to  find  them.  How  could  we 
have  money  when  the  fruits  of  the  land 
were  confiscated  twice  a  year  for  centuries 
by  a  worthless  foreign  garrison  that  never 
gave  anything  in  return  for  the  millions 
they  exacted?  How  could  we  have  prog- 
ress when  we  ]are  saddled  with  an  anti- 
quated executiv*?^  the  most  stupid  and  most 
expensive,  not  alone  in  Christendom,  but  in 
the  dominions  of  the  Grand  Turk?]  How 
could  we  have  manufactures  when  our  in- 


30  Altar  and  Priest 

dustries  were  deliberately  destroyed  by  gov- 
ernment for  the  benefit  of  foreigners,  and  at 
the  very  time  Europe  was  serving  her  ap- 
prenticeship in  modern  methods  we  were 
barred  out  of  the  school  of  experience? 

How  could  we  have  trade  when  our  chief 
asset,  agriculture,  which  from  the  nature  of 
things  must  be  always  our  great  reliance^ 
was  sacrificed  by  alien  laws  to  the  needs  of 
the  English  manufacturing  towns? 

If  men  want  to  see  the  truth  about  Ire- 
land's decadence  they  can  find  abundant 
reason  in  historical  and  political  causes,  and 
will  not  be  driven  to  explain  the  facts  that 
the  Catholic  religion  of  Belgium  does  not 
prevent  that  country  from  being  one  of  the 
most  progressive  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  that  Catholic  Irishmen  appear  to  share 
with  honor  the  burden  of  the  greatest  politi- 
cal offices,  and  to  manage  with  success  the 
most  extensive  business  enterprises  in  every 
country  of  the  world  except  their  own.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  church  building  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Ireland  has  been,  and  still  is,  a  ques- 
tion of  physical  necessity.  The  country  was 
indeed  once  well  supplied  with  Catholic 
churches,  but  at  the  Reformation  the  Eng- 


The  Island  of  Saints  31 

lish  government  seized  them  for  the  English 
religion.  You  know  the  adherents  of  that 
religion  were  never  numerous  enough  to  fill 
them,  and  you  know,  too,  that  the  govern- 
ment adopted  the  dog-in-the-manger  pol- 
icy of  allowing  them  to  go  to  ruin  rather 
than  that  Catholics  should  use  them.  Take, 
for  example,  this  city.  Even  what  is  left 
of  the  Big  Church  would  now  accommo- 
date all  the  people  within  the  circuit  of  the 
ancient  walls,  yet  it  stands  there  useless  from 
Sunday  to  Sunday  when  for  a  few  hours  its 
vastness  laughs  at  the  little  congregation 
that  gathers  in  its  empty  aisles.  If  we  had 
back  our  own  there  would  be  no  need  of 
building  new  churches.  But  as  we  have 
not  back  our  own,  are  we  to  be  blamed  that 
we  strive,  even  out  of  our  poverty,  to  aflford 
to  the  teeming  multitudes  that  throng  to 
our  services  those  conveniences  for  worship 
that  are  allowed  in  every  civilized  country 
under  the  sun? 

But  the  objection  is  made:  Why  do  we 
not  confine  ourselves  to  meeting  necessities, 
instead  of  throwing  away  our  money  on  lux- 
uries? Build  up  corrugated-iron  churches  if 
you  need  shelter  from  the  weather,  but  the 


32  Altar  and  Priest 

money  you  waste  on  marble  altars,  and  stat- 
uary, and  vestments,  and  gold  and  silver 
work — ^would  it  not  be  more  profitably  em- 
ployed in  improving  the  condition  of  the 
poor?  We  read  in  Sacred  Scripture  how 
when  our  Lord  lodged  at  Bethany  the  week 
before  He  suffered,  His  friends  made  him  a 
great  dinner.  As  they  all  reclined  at  table, 
behold  a  woman  came  behind  Him  with  an 
alabaster  box  of  ointment  and  anointed  His 
feet  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair.  As  the 
odor  of  the  ointment  filled  the  room  they 
perceived  that  it  was  very  precious,  and 
Judas  had  indignation,  saying,  ^^Why  this 
waste?  This  ointment  might  have  been  sold 
for  so  much  and  the  money  given  to  the 
poor."  Now  the  evangelist  tells  us  that  he 
said  this  not  because  he  loved  the  poor,  but 
because  he  carried  the  common  purse  and 
was  a  thief.  But  the  Lord  turned  and  re- 
buked him,  saying,  "Suffer  her  now,  for 
what  she  hath  done  she  hath  done  for  My 
burial."  Then  He  added  the  memorable 
words — the  reward  of  Mary's  service: 
"Wherever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached 
throughout  the  world,  there  shall  it  be  told 
what  she  hath  done  for  me." 


The  Island  of  Saints  33 

So  we  hold  with  Magdalen  rather  than 
with  Judas.  We  believe  that  nothing  can 
be  too  good  for  God,  nothing  too  precious 
for  the  service  of  Christ  who  dwells  upon 
our  altars.  If  it  should  ever  come  to  a 
choice  between  the  adornment  of  the  sanc- 
tuary and  the  necessities  of  the  poor,  then 
the  Canon  law  says  sell  the  very  candlesticks 
off  the  altar,  and  there  is  no  enemy  of  ours 
so  barefaced  as  to  assert  we  neglect  our 
needy.  Indeed,  so  inconsistent  are  they  that 
the  very  people  who  blame  us  for  not  spend- 
ing on  the  poor  the  money  we  invest  in 
churches  are  the  first  to  accuse  us  of 
pauperizing  our  flocks  by  indiscriminate 
giving. 

But  let  me  ask  where  has  the  money  gone 
that  was  spent  on  these  churches?  We  have 
not  buried  it  in  the  earth,  nor  have  we  spent 
it  in  riotous  living  in  foreign  parts.  Some 
of  it,  no  doubt — a  small  portion,  but  still 
more  than  was  necessary — has  gone  abroad 
for  materials  that  might  be  got  at  home,  but 
the  far  greater  part  has  gone  for  home  labor 
and  home  material,  and  has  thus  returned  to 
the  pockets  of  the  people.  But  it  may  be 
objected,  again,  these  churches  are  not  re- 


34  Altar  and  Priest 

productive  enterprises,  and,  unlike  facto- 
ries, they  do  not  continue  of  benefit  to  the 
community.  Not  of  benefit  to  the  commu- 
nity? What  is  there  that  does  more  for  the 
community,  even  in  a  material  manner,  than 
the  churches?  Goodness  knows,  in  Ireland 
we  have  a  police  force  far  too  large  for  the 
demands  of  the  population,  and  far  too  ex- 
pensive! But  can  you  conceive  the  size  of 
the  police  force  and  the  expense  that  would 
be  entailed,  not  in  Ireland  alone  but  in  any 
country, 'if  the  churches  closed  their  doors 
and  discontinued  teaching  the  moral  law? 
Did  it  ever  strike  you  that  two-thirds  of  our 
taxes  are  spent  fighting  crime?  The  sol- 
diers, the  police,  the  courts  of  justice  and 
the  vast  army  of  the  legal  fraternity  exist 
in  this  country  not  for  the  ordinary  law- 
abiding  citizen,  but  for  the  law-breakers. 
Will  any  one  admit  the  tremendous  influ- 
ence of  the  Church  in  instilling  respect  for 
order  and  justice  and  right,  and  then  have 
the  face  to  assert  that  a  church  is  not  of 
continuous  monetary  benefit  to  the  com- 
munity? 

Moreover,  the  benefits  given  to  a  com- 
munity are  not  to  be  measured  by  the  weekly 


The  Island  of  Saints  35 

pay-roll.  Consider  what  a  force  every 
church  such  as  this  is  for  culture  and  educa- 
tion. It  is  every  day  at  the  service  of  the 
people.  From  dawn  to  dark  its  doors  are 
open  to  the  poorest.  Those  stained-glass 
windows,  those  carven  figures,  those  altars, 
rich  with  symbolism,  are  ever  speaking  and 
speaking  new  things  and  noble  things  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  Our  modern  school 
would  consider  a  newspaper  a  worthy  and 
reproductive  enterprise,  though  it  speaks 
chiefly  of  crime  and  gambling  and  the 
meaner  things  of  our  nature.  But  this 
structure,  eloquent  with  words  that  never 
yet  burned  on  human  lips  and  refining  our 
minds  with  thoughts  that  the  dull  brain  can 
only,  in  part,  translate  into  consciousness — 
this  church  which  has  been  the  school  of 
Christendom  and  the  temple  of  art — this  is 
far  more  in  the  upbuilding  of  Christianity 
and  civilization  than  all  the  newspapers 
that  ever  groaned  from  the  presses,  or  all 
the  factories  that  have  belched  their  smoke 
against  God's  blue  sky. 

It  is  certainly  a  new  thing  in  the  history 
of  religious  thought  that  men  should  live 
in  palaces  and  worship  in  sheds.     David's 


36  Altar  and.  Priest 

heart  reproached  him  that  he  dwelt  in  a 
house  of  cedar,  while  the  ark  of  the  Lord 
lay  in  a  tabernacle  of  skins,  and  it  was  re- 
puted unto  him  for  justice.  So  we,  too,  with 
holy  David,  desire  the  beauty  of  God's 
house  and  the  honor  of  the  place  where  His 
glory  loves  to  dwell.  Even  as  our  fathers 
in  the  ages  of  faith  filled  the  land  with 
splendid  monuments  of  religion,  so  we  in  the 
age  of  materialism  are  glad  in  our  humble 
way  to  follow  their  example.  No  matter 
how  the  seats  of  pestilence  may  scorn  us,  we 
intend  to  go  on  with  the  work  to  which  our 
hands  are  set.  We  have  not  the  resources 
or  the  artistic  skill  as  yet  of  those  who  went 
before  us,  but  these  things  will  come  in 
time,  and  our  hearts  are  as  grateful  as 
theirs  and  our  hands  as  ready  to  build  again 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and  to  prepare  the 
tabernacle  of  our  Lord,  whose  delight  it  is 
to  be  with  the  children  of  men. 

But  there  is  another,  and  not  a  less  urgent 
reason  for  building  fine  churches  in  Ireland. 
In  its  attempt  to  destroy  religion  in  this 
country  the  English  government  established 
here  a  ruling  class  based  on  creed.  The 
ancient  inhabitants,  the  Catholics,  were  re- 


The  Island  of  Saints  37 

duced  to  the  position  of  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water.  The  newcomers,  the 
Protestants,  were  lords  and  masters.  The 
Protestant  ascendancy  was  a  fact  which  no 
historian  of  Ireland  can  afiford  to  ignore — 
it  is  still  a  fact  which  the  philosophic 
student  of  conditions  must  take  into  ac- 
count. The  Protestants  possessed  the  land, 
the  political  offices,  the  professions,  the 
churches,  the  shops,  and  by  law  a  Catholic 
was  not  supposed  as  much  as  to  breathe  the 
air  of  his  native  land.  You  know  the  long 
fight  the  Catholics  waged  against  that  in- 
iquitous institution.  You  know  that  the  vic- 
tory they  won  under  O'Connell's  leadership 
was  won,  not  from  England's  benevolence 
but  from  England's  fear.  You  know  that 
even  when  the  letter  of  the  law  w^as  repealed 
the  spirit  of  the  law  remained,  and  still  re- 
mains. To-day  the  evil  genius  of  ascend- 
ancy still  infests  the  country,  and  you  know 
by  experience  that  it  is  yet  a  real  positive 
disadvantage  in  every  walk  of  life  for  a  man 
to  be  a  Catholic  in  this  Catholic  land. 

When,  therefore,  the  Catholics  were 
emancipated  and  began  to  build  churches, 
what  did  these  churches  signify?    They  sig- 


38  Altar  and  Priest 

nified  that  no  longer  were  we  compelled  by 
law  to  worship  in  back  rooms  in  back  streets. 
They  signified  that  O'Connell's  victory  had 
delivered  us  from  the  house  of  bondage,  and 
that  the  slaves  of  yesterday  were  free  to  hold 
their  heads  as  high  as  their  broken  mas- 
ters. The  old  cathedral,  the  venerable  clois- 
ter, the  splendid  church  raised  by  Catholic 
generosity,  but  held  still  by  the  spoilers, 
looked  down  on  the  mud-wall  cabin  that 
was  called  in  contempt  a  chapel.  So  even 
they  who  possessed  them  looked  down  on 
the  people  and  their  faith.  What  were  the 
people  bound,  in  self-respect,  to  do?  Right 
beside  the  monument  of  the  spoliation  they 
would  raise  a  new  temple  whose  enduring 
stones  would  be  a  memorial  of  the  freedom 
they  had  won,  and  from  whose  spires  the 
bells  would  ring  out  liberty  to  all  the  land 
and  proclaim  the  redemption  of  captives 
and  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. 

This,  though  they  will  not  acknowledge 
it,  is  where  the  sore  spot  lies.  Hence  comes 
this  solicitude  for  the  poor  and  this  griev- 
ance against  fine  churches.  To  bigotry,  our 
churches  are  a  perpetual  reminder  that  big- 
otry did  its  worst  and  failed.    They  are  the 


The  Island  of  Saints  39 

assertion  of  that  equality  in  religion  which 
our  people  won  in  name  with  such  tribula- 
tion, and  they  are  perpetual  incentives  to 
make  that  equality  a  fact  not  only  in  religion 
but  also  in  economics,  in  social  life  and  in 
the  political  field. 

We  ask  for  nothing  but  what  in  all  right 
and  reason  is  due  us — equality  of  rights  and 
equality  of  opportunities.  God  knows  we 
have  no  desire  to  pay  back  wrong  for  wrong, 
or  intolerance  for  intolerance!  No  man  can 
truly  say  that  here  in  Galway  Protestants 
have  been  penalized  or  persecuted.  How 
many  of  them  we  know  whose  paths  are 
peace  and  whose  ways  are  justice.  They 
have  come  amongst  and  have  been  made 
one  with  us  by  the  ties  of  blood  or  friend- 
ship, and  who  in  this  city  are  more  respected 
or  beloved?  Not  of  them  I  speak.  They  have 
walked  among  us  claiming  no  superiority 
because  of  their  religion,  doing  no  man  hurt 
because  of  his  creed.  'Not  of  them  I  speak. 
I  speak  of  those  who  forget  that  King 
Henry  is  dead  and  that  Cromwell  has  gone 
to  his  own  place.  I  speak  of  those  who 
think  that  William  of  Orange  still  reigns 
and  that  the  penal  laws  are  yet  on  the  statute 


40  Altar  and  Priest 

book.  I  speak  of  those  who  look  upon 
themselves  as  a  superior  race  and  a  privi- 
leged people.  To  them  w^e  say  that  which 
the  builders  of  this  church  put  in  stone : 

*We  are  as  good  as  you.  God  has  put  us 
in  this  land  and  has  given  us  Irish  bodies 
and  Irish  minds,  and  no  Irishman  shall  be 
punished  because  of  his  creed.  If  you  are 
more  talented,  more  industrious,  better  edu- 
cated, enjoy  in  peace  the  fruits  of  your  at- 
tainments ;  but  you  must  not,  you  shall  not, 
block  the  ways  of  opportunity  for  us  be- 
cause we  are  Catholics.  Every  gate  to 
power  that  is  open  to  you  must  be  open  to 
us.  Every  avenue  to  wealth  that  lies  free 
to  you  must  lie  free  for  us,  and  every  door 
to  education  that  swings  open  to  you  must 
not  be  permitted  to  swing  in  our  face — no 
matter  how  bigots  may  rage  and  cowardly 
politicians  dishonor  their  own  words." 

And  let  us  not  be  afraid  of  this  program, 
nor  think  this  objective  point  too  high.  We 
have  accomplished  mightier  things  against 
stronger  adversaries,  and  with  weapons  not 
half  as  strong.  Let  us  have  faith,  the  faith 
of  the  men  who  went  before  us  and  were 
not  afraid  of  the  face  of  Pharao  as  see- 


The  Island  of  Saints  41 

ing  the  mightier  one  that  stood  behind  his 
throne.  Do  not  imitate  the  stiff-necked  Jews 
who  tempted  God  in  the  wilderness  and 
experienced  His  wrath  for  forty  years.  You 
remember  when  the  chosen  people  came 
out  of  Egypt  God  by  many  wonders  opened 
the  way  for  them  even  to  the  borders  of  the 
promised  land.  There  they  encamped,  and 
sent  men  to  spy  out  the  country  and  bring 
back  tidings  of  its  defenses.  The  spies  went 
and  returned  bringing  evidence  that  it  was 
indeed  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey, 
but  the  inhabitants  they  said  ^^are  giants, 
and  we  are  but  as  grasshoppers  in  their 
sight."  Straightway  the  courage  of  the  peo- 
ple failed  and  their  hearts  melted  within 
them.  ^^Lead  us  back,"  they  cried,  ^^into 
Egypt:  better  bondage  by  the  flesh  pots 
than  death  in  this  land."  Two  of  the  spies, 
Josue  and  Caleb,  strove  to  reassure  them. 
^We,"  they  said,  ^^are  the  Lord's  people, 
and  if  we  trust  in  the  Lord  we  can  eat  up  the 
Canaanites  like  bread."  But  the  people  re- 
fused to  listen  to  them  and  turned  their 
backs  on  the  land  of  desire.  Then  was  God's 
wrath  kindled  against  them,  and  He  swore 
that  none  of  them  should  enter  into  His 


42  Altar  and  Priest 

rest.  For  forty  years  they  wandered  in  the 
desert  and  in  its  sands  they  laid  their 
bones — all  save  the  two  that  were  not  afraid, 
Josue  and  Caleb — they  alone  of  all  that 
generation  were  found  worthy  to  enter  the 
Promised  Land. 

Let  it  not  be  so  with  you.  You  are  men, 
acquit  yourselves  like  men.  Heed  not  the 
advice  of  those  who  would  have  you  hug 
your  chains,  because  of  any  sop  cast  into 
the  flesh  pot.  Follow  not  them  who  bid  you, 
only  whine  lest  the  voices  of  freemen  dis- 
turb your  masters'  repose.  You  are  Catho- 
lics and  Irishmen.  This  is  your  country,  and 
here  should  your  children  dwell.  If  they 
are  to  remain  and  prosper,  they  must  have 
equal  rights  with  the  children  of  every 
other  class  and  creed.  Especially  in  this 
age,  where  more  than  in  any  other  age  the 
prizes  of  life  go  to  the  educated,  must  they 
have  equal  rights  in  school  and  college  and 
university.  On  you  their  future  depends, 
and  if  in  you  is  the  spirit  of  Caleb  and  the 
fortitude  of  Josue  your  children's  children 
will  rise  up  and  bless  you  as  this  day  we 
bless  our  fathers  who  won  for  us  in  emanci- 
pation the  first  installment  of  our  rights. 


The  Island  of  Saints  43 

Now,  there  is  just  one  more  thought  that 
this  celebration  brings  to  me,  and  I  am  done. 
To-day  not  only  do  we  see  in  the  jubilee  of 
this  church  the  passing  of  the  penal  laws 
and  the  challenge  for  equal  rights,  but  we 
see  also  the  glorification  of  that  form  of 
Christian  perfection  known  as  the  religious 
life.  This  church  is  not  only  a  Catholic 
church  and  an  Irish  church,  but  it  is  also  a 
church  of  the  great  Augustinian  Order. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  explain  to 
you  what  is  meant  by  a  religious  order  or 
the  religious  life.  Our  Lord  in  the  Gospels 
laid  down  clearly  two  classes  of  commands : 
one  of  obligation  on  all  Christians,  and  the 
other  only  for  those  who  were  capable  of 
taking  them.  This  is  the  higher  life  and 
the  better  part.  During  the  history  of  the 
Church  this  ideal  has  been  fulfilled  now  in 
one  way,  now  in  another.  Not  the  least  suc- 
cessful and  not  the  least  meritorious  of  the 
organizations  formed  to  carry  out  the 
Evangelical  Counsels  is  the  society  whose 
priests  under  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine  have 
served  this  city  so  well.  Under  the  vows  of 
poverty,  chastity  and  obedience  they  strive 
themselves  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  perfec- 


44  Altar  and  Priest 

tion,  and  by  their  life  and  conversation  to 
make  manifest  to  the  people  the  beauty  of 
holiness. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  world  does 
not  love  the  religious  orders.  Men  who 
find  the  ten  commandments  impossible  will 
not  readily  bear  the  rebuke  of  those  whose 
lives  demonstrate  that  the  yoke  of  Christ  is 
easy  and  His  burden  light.  Indeed,  in  many 
ways  the  religious  orders  bear  in  Christen- 
dom the  same  role  that  the  prophets  bore 
in  the  old  dispensation.  The  world  with  its 
wisdom  sees  in  them  what  the  wicked  king 
of  Samaria  saw  in  God's  messenger  of  old 
time.  ^^Hast  thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy! 
Thou  that  troublest  Israel?"  was  the  cry  of 
Achab  as  he  walked  with  Jezebel  in  the 
vineyard  of  Naboth,  she  had  done  to 
death  what  time  Elias  came  to  denounce 
God's  punishment  on  the  crime.  ^^It  is  not 
I  that  trouble  Israel,"  answered  Elias,  ^^but 
thou  and  thy  father's  house,"  and  so  from 
the  beginning  has  the  world  rebuked  the 
religious  orders  and  accused  them  of  dis- 
turbing the  commonwealth.  To  hide  their 
own  crimes  the  rulers  have  sought  the  monks 
for  victims.    We  have  seen  what  they  tried 


The  Island  of  Saints  45 

to  do  in  Ireland  and  with  what  results.  We 
may  see  the  same  evil  work  even  now.  Every 
generation  sends  fresh  recruits  to  join  the 
gates  of  hell,  and  what  Bismarck  did  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  Pombal  in  the 
eighteenth,  and  Cromwell  in  the  seven- 
teenth, and  Henry  in  the  sixteenth,  that  the 
French  Republic  in  its  madness  is  trying  to 
do  to-day. 

Yet  if  there  ever  was  a  time  when  the 
world  needed  a  prophet  to  set  his  face  like 
flint  against  iniquity,  it  is  now.  If  there 
ever  was  a  time  when  the  example  of  the 
religious  was  a  necessity,  it  is  our  day,  when 
the  world  has  gone  mad  after  money.  The 
concupiscence  of  the  flesh  and  the  pride  of 
life,  these  are  the  gods  the  nations  adore. 
Wise  men  call  a  halt  in  the  wild  rush  after 
material  prosperity,  but  what  can  human 
words  do  when  humanity  has  gone  mad? 
There  is  only  one  cure  now,  as  there  was 
only  one  cure  in  the  past,  and  that  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Saviour,  and  as  it  is  the  end 
of  the  religious  orders  to  incarnate  that  doc- 
trine in  its  highest  aspects,  so  it  is  now  their 
mission  to  proclaim  from  the  housetops, 
and  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  in  the  ears 


46  Altar  and  Priest 

of  the  demented  worshipers  of  the  Golden 
Calf:  ^^Hear,  O  Israel,  thy  God  is  one 
God — the  Poor  Man  that  was  born  in  the 
stable  that  had  not  on  earth  a  place  whereon 
to  lay  His  head,  that  died  the  death  of  an 
outcast,  and  was  buried  in  a  stranger's 
grave — Jesus  Christ,  yesterday  and  to-day 
and  the  same  forever." 

If  this  cure  be  not  applied  to  the  mala- 
dies of  our  times,  we  may  well  fear  the 
worst.  The  reformation  has  come  to  its 
logical  Conclusion,  and  they  who  began  by 
rejecting  the  Church  have  ended  by  reject- 
ing God.  What  does  the  future  hold?  Ye 
that  have  ears  to  hear  let  ye  hear.  The 
deep-toned  mutterings  arise  from  every  state 
in  Christendom,  aye,  and  we  see  the  flash 
of  the  sabre  and  the  glare  of  the  bomb. 
Europe  is  like  an  armed  camp,  but  even  in 
the  big  battalions  there  is  discontent.  Across 
the  sea  come  the  sounds  of  unrest  from  the 
great  republics  of  the  west.  The  toilers 
claim  that  they  are  defrauded  of  the  results 
of  their  toil.  The  house  of  want  is  set  over 
against  the  house  of  have,  and  while  the 
occupants  of  the  house  of  have  are  few  the 
dwellers  in  the  house  of  want  wear  the 


The  Island  of  Saints  47 

threshold  of  the  door.  That  a  great  strug- 
gle is  inevitable,  no  one  denies.  In  our 
present  system  sooner  or  later  it  must  come. 
What  shall  be  the  result?  As  great  a  civili- 
zation as  the  Roman  empire  went  down 
before  the  barbarians.  Is  our  system  des- 
tined, too,  to  go  down  before  the  barbarians 
of  our  slums  and  the  new  heathen  begotten 
of  our  godless  greed? 

But,  whatever  may  befall,  it  is  your  duty 
here  in  this  island  fastness  of  the  west  to 
look  to  yourselves.  In  such  communities  as 
the  Augustinians  we  behold  the  true  anti- 
dote for  the  evils  of  our  times.  You  must 
not  rely  on  your  insular  situation  to  escape 
the  contagion,  for  thought  has  no  barriers, 
and  the  printed  word  laughs  at  mountains 
and  oceans.  Your  one  hope,  your  sole  ref- 
uge, is  that  you  stand  in  the  ancient  paths. 
To  only  one  Church  has  Christ  promised 
that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it,  and  that  is  the  Apostolic  See. 
^fom  the  days  of  Patrick  this  has  been  our 
proudest  boast  that  you  have  always  been 
loyal  to  Rome.  God  grant  that  that  loyalty 
may  give  you  a  share  in  Rome's  privilege, 
and  as  in  the  olden  days,  when  the  barba- 


48  Altar  and  Priest 

rians  had  extinguished  the  light  of  faith  in 
Western  Europe,  it  still  burned  brightly  in 
this  holy  island,  and  Irish  monks  became 
as  God's  right  arm  in  winning  back  the 
young  nations  to  the  faith,  so,  if  the  very 
worst  should  come,  we  pray  that  the  God 
of  Israel,  under  whose  wings  ye  have  taken 
refuge,  would  not  deliver  you  over  to  the 
power  of  the  enemy,  but  would  conserve 
you  to  be  once  more  a  lamp  to  the  Gentiles 
and  a  light  to  the  feet  of  the  nations. 

We  pray  this  for  your  sake,  we  who 
are  of  the  dispersion,  and  we  pray  it  also 
for  ourselves.  We  belong  to  the  greater 
Ireland,  the  Ireland  beyond  the  seas.  But 
we  are  not  so  happily  situated  as  you.  We 
are  in  the  vortex  of  the  coming  struggle; 
around  us  the  battle  rages,  beneath  our  feet 
the  ground  trembles  with  the  thunder  of 
the  captains  and  the  shoutings.  In  our  need 
we  look  to  you.  Have  we  not  the  right  to 
demand  your  help?  Te  are  bone  of  our 
bone,  flesh  of  our  flesh.  True  it  is  we  have 
wandered  far  over  land  and  sea,  but  when 
have  we  ever  denied  you,  when  have  we  re- 
fused to  bear  blame  for  you,  when  have  we 
been  backward  in  your  quarrel — for  is  it 


The  Island  of  Saints  49 

not  ours?  We  do  not  give  up  our  lot  in  this 
land  which  the  dead  of  our  people  guard  for 
us  as  they  have  guarded  it  for  you.  We  do 
not  give  up  our  claim  to  impress  you  in  our 
need.  When  the  great  day  of  conflict  comes, 
and  the  armies  of  the  living  God  are  set 
over  for  the  great  struggle  against  the  hosts 
of  evil,  we  pray  to  feel  that  you  are  bro- 
thers by  our  side,  shoulder  to  shoulder  and 
knee  to  knee,  and  in  that  hour  the  nations 
shall  know  that  the  arm  of  the  Lord  is  not 
shortened,  and  the  great  deeds  He  wrought 
for  our  fathers  He  shall  work  also  for  us 
unto  the  salvation  of  His  people  and  the 
glory  of  His  most  holy  name.    Amen. 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  ARK 


The  Rededicaiion  of  St,  Roses  Church, 
San  Francisco,  Cal,  December  19,  1909. 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  ARK 

This  is  a  day  of  rejoicing  for  you  and 
your  pastor  and  the  whole  diocese.  Once 
more  this  church  is  open  for  public  wor- 
ship. Once  more  you  and  your  children 
may  stand  in  these  courts  of  the  Lord. 
Once  more  you  may  take  up  the  song  of  the 
psalmist: 

I  was  glad  in  the  things  that  were  said  to 

me: 
We  will  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
Our  feet  were  standing 
In  thy  courts,  O  Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem,  which  is  built  as  a  city, 
Whose  walls  are  compact  together. 
For  thither  do  the  tribes  go  up. 
The  tribes  of  the  Lord: 
The  commandment  unto  Israel 
To  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
For  there  are  set  the  seats  of  judgment. 
The  thrones  of  the  house  of  David. 
Pray  for  the  things  that  are  for  the  peace 

of  Jerusalem: 
And  abundance  for  them  that  love  Thee. 

For  nearly  four  years  the  abomination 
of  desolation  has  stood  in  this  place.   Since 


54  Altar  and  Priest 

that  awful  day  in  Easter  week,  when  the 
earth  trembled  and  was  still,  silence  has 
reigned  in  these  cloisters.  When  the  red 
sea  of  fire  roared  through  these  streets,  our 
Lord  was  carried  away  from  His  taberna- 
cle, as  of  old  time  He  was  carried  away 
from  Bethlehem,  fleeing  before  His  own 
creatures.  When  the  ashes  were  cold,  the 
bare  walls  of  the  church  dominated  the 
whole  prospect — she  sat  solitary  that  was 
full  of  people,  weeping  like  Rachel  for  her 
children,  because  they  were  not. 

But  you  did  not  lose  courage.  You  did 
not  lose  faith  in  this  splendid  city.  One  by 
one  you  came  back,  and  are  still  coming 
back  to  the  old  parish.  Like  the  Jews  of 
old,  in  the  midst  of  calamities,  you  take 
refuge  under  the  wings  of  the  Most  High. 

Our  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength : 

A  sure  help  in  the  troubles  that  have  come 

sore  upon  us. 
Therefore  we  will  not  fear,  tho'  the  earth 

may  quake: 
And  the  hills  be  cast  into  the  depths  of  the 

sea. 
The  waters  may  roar  and  be  troubled : 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  55 

The  mountains  may  shake  at  the  violence 

thereof. 
But  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us : 
And  our  upholder  is  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Not  once  or  twice  but  three  times  has  fire 
swept  this  hallowed  spot.  Still  neither  you 
nor  your  pastors  were  dismayed.  Again 
and  again  you  rebuilt.  Your  rallying  cry 
was  the  cry  of  the  exile  of  Israel : 

How  lovely  are  Thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord 

of  hosts! 
My  soul  longeth  and  fainteth  for  the  courts 

of  the  Lord. 
My  heart  and  my  flesh 
Have  rejoiced  in  the  living  God. 
For  the  sparrow  hath  found  her  a  house: 
And  the  turtle   a  nest  where   to   lay  her 

young : 
Even  Thine  altars,  O  Lord  of  hosts. 
My  king  and  my  God. 

How  often  in  the  spring  time  have  you 
seen  the  sparrow's  nest  torn  down,  and  how 
often  have  you  seen  the  faithful  bird  come 
and  build  it  anew!  So  you,  undaunted, 
have  once  more  lifted  up  the  altar  of  the 
Lord  of  hosts.  Your  beloved  pastor — 
beloved  not  only  by  you,  but  by  his  brother 


56  Altar  and  Priest 

priests,  and  by  all  who  have  ever  come  in 
contact  with  his  kiqdly  personality — he, 
from  the  moment  rehabilitation  began, 
never  ceased  revolving  in  his  mind  plans 
for  the  restoration  of  the  parish.  Like  an- 
other Columcille,  the  dove  of  the  churches, 
he  found  for  himself  a  cleft  in  the  walls. 
He  lived  in  that  mean  shack  beyond,  and 
gathered  you  in  the  little  barn  that  barely 
sheltered  you.  Circumstances  delayed  the 
work,  but  he  never  lost  heart.  To-day  he 
sees  his  desires  accomplished. 

The  sparrow  hath  found  her  a  house : 
And   the  turtle   a   nest  where   to   lay  her 

young; 
Even  Thine  altars,  O  Lord  of  hosts. 
My  king  and  my  God. 
Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house, 

O  Lord : 
They  shall  praise  Thee  for  ever  and  ever. 
For  one  day  in  Thy  house 
Is  better  than  thousands. 
I  had  rather  be  despised  in  the  house  of  my 

God, 
Than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  sinners. 
O  Lord  of  hosts,  blessed  is  the  man 
That  sets  his  hope  in  Thee. 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  57 

I. 

The  Church  is  the  Lord's  house.  That 
is  the  derivation  of  the  name.  When  Solo- 
mon contemplated  the  Temple  which 
David,  his  father,  was  not  found  worthy 
to  build,  we  read  in  Holy  Scripture  how 
he  held  a  great  ceremony  of  dedication, 
and  prayed  thus  to  God: 

^^Building,  have  I  built  a  house  for  Thy 
dwelling  place  to  be  Thy  most  firm 
throne  forever.  Is  it  then  to  be  thought, 
that  God  should  indeed  dwell  upon  earth? 
For  if  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens 
cannot  contain  Thee,  how  much  less  this 
house  which  I  have  built?  But  have  re- 
gard to  the  prayer  of  Thy  servant,  and  his 
supplications,  O  Lord,  my  God.  Let  Thine 
eyes  be  upon  this  house  night  and  day, 
that  Thou  mayest  hearken  to  the  prayer 
which  Thy  people  Israel  pray  in  this  place 
unto  Thee.  Yea,  hear  Thou  them  in 
heaven.  Thy  dwelling  place,  and  when 
Thou  hearest,  forgive." 

Thus  prayed  Solomon,  and  in  a  vision 
God  spake  unto  him  and  said: 

^^I  have  heard  thy  prayer  and  thy  suppli- 
cation that  thou  hast  made  before  Me.     I 


58  Altar  and  Priest 

have  hallowed  this  house  which  thou  hast 
built,  to  put  My  name  there  forever:  and 
Mine  eyes  and  My  heart  shall  be  there 
always." 

Solomon's  temple  was  gorgeous  with 
gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones.  Rare 
marbles  and  costly  woods  adorned  it  be- 
yond all  the  temples  of  the  earth;  yet  it 
was  not  in  Solomon's  temple  that  God's 
promise  received  its  accomplishment,  but 
in  our  churches.  Our  Divine  Lord  in  the 
Sacrament  of  His  Love  is  Emmanuel  or 
God  with  us.  In  the  Eucharist  is  that  Scrip- 
ture fulfilled,  ^^No  nation  hath  its  God  so 
close  to  it  as  our  God  is  to  us."  In  the 
tabernacle  before  which  the  lamp  ever 
burns,  under  the  mystic  veil  is  Jesus  Christ 
really  and  truly  present.  His  eyes  are  al- 
ways on  this  house.  He  sees  His  people  as 
they  come  to  worship  before  Him,  and  He 
knows  them,  and  numbers  them  as  the  shep- 
herd knows  and  numbers  his  sheep.  His 
heart  is  here  forever — that  Sacred  Heart 
that  yearns  over  this  city,  and  would  gather 
her  wayward  children  as  the  hen  gathereth 
her  young  under  her  wings.  Before  Him 
the  holy  angels  stand  with  golden  censers 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  59 

in  their  hands,  and,  as  you  pray,  the  smoke 
of  the  incense,  which  is  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  goes  up  as  a  sweet  savor  before  the 
face  of  God.  Verily,  as  Jacob  said  long  ago 
in  Bethel:  How  terrible  a  place  is  this! 
for  this  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God 
and  the  gate  of  heaven. 

This  it  is  that  marks  off  a  Catholic  church 
from  all  other  churches,  meeting  houses  or 
synagogues — the  Real  Presence.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  many  tender,  many  beautiful 
associations  which  make  the  church  always 
a  holy  place  for  you.  Before  the  altar  you 
plighted  your  troth ;  for  richer,  for  poorer, 
for  better,  for  worse,  till  death  shall  you 
part.  To  the  church  porch  you  bring  your 
children  to  be  born  again  in  the  waters  of 
Baptism.  Here  they  have  passed  beneath 
the  Bishop's  hand,  even  as  you  have  passed, 
and  have  been  strengthened  with  the  chrism 
of  salvation,  and  have  received  the  acco- 
lade that  made  them  knights  of  Christ. 
Here  at  the  sanctuary — oh,  happy  day  for 
them  and  you — they  knelt  to  taste  for  the 
first  time  the  sweetness  of  the  Body  of  the 
Lord.  In  yonder  confessionals,  how  many 
will  lay  down  the  heavy  burden  of  sin  and 


6o  Altar  and  Priest 

know  the  consolation  that  Christ  never  re- 
fuses to  a  broken  and  contrite  heart.  Sanc- 
tified is  this  place  with  tears,  as  you  sat  by 
the  bier  of  those  you  loved,  and  you  hope 
some  day  to  lie  before  this  altar  that  the 
priest's  blessing  may  fall  like  the  gentle  and 
cleansing  rain  upon  you  before  your  body  is 
laid  in  its  long  home.  Ah,  brethren,  these 
are  thoughts  tender  and  beautiful  that  cling 
round  this  church  and  every  church ;  but  it 
is  not  in  them  lies  the  secret  of  its  peculiar 
and  awful  holiness.  It  is  not  these  thoughts 
that  fill  the  house  with  the  cloud  of  majesty 
and  that  move  the  lintels  of  the  door.  It  is 
not  these  associations  that  veil  the  faces  of 
the  seraphim  and  inspire  their  unending 
song  as  they  cry  unto  one  another  without 
ceasing,  **Holy,  holy,  holy!  Lord,  God  of 
hosts!  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  His 
glory!"  No.  It  is  rather  the  fact  that  there 
is  set  up  here  a  true  altar  and  a  real  sacrifice. 
It  is  the  fact  that  there  is  immolated  here 
the  clean  oblation,  the  spotless  holocaust, 
the  immaculate  victim.  It  is  the  fact  that 
here  the  death  of  the  Lord  is  shown  forth 
and  the  tragedy  of  Calvary  every  day  re- 
newed for  the  living  and  the  dead.     The 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  6l 

Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  lie  really  and 
truly  upon  that  altar  under  the  appearance 
of  bread  and  wine,  and  it  is  the  awful  holi- 
ness of  Jesus  Christ  Himself  that  overflows, 
as  it  were,  upon  the  sanctuary  and  the 
church  and  that  runs  down  its  walls  like 
the  precious  ointment  on  the  head  of  Aaron, 
that  ran  down  to  the  very  skirt  of  his 
garments. 

11. 

But  the  influence  of  Christ's  holiness  is 
not  confined  within  the  church's  doors. 
The  prophet  Isaias  said:  ^^In  the  last  days 
the  mountain  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  prepared  on  the  top  of  mountains  and 
shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills."  Our 
Lord  compared  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to 
a  city  seated  on  the  mountain  top,  which  can 
not  be  hid.  This  church  stands  here  in  this 
busy  quarter  of  this  busy  city  as  a  standard 
lifted  up  to  the  nations  to  mark  the  ren- 
dezvous for  the  armies  of  God.  From  its 
massive  walls  the  cross  looks  down  upon  the 
hurrying  multitude  and  they,  no  matter  how 
indifferent  to  religion  they  may  be,  cannot 


62  Altar  and  Priest 

but  realize  that  here  is  the  outpost  of  an  or- 
ganization that  may  die  but  does  not  retreat. 
Other  religious  societies  pull  up  their  stakes 
and  retire  to  newer  and  more  fashionable 
quarters,  but  the  old  Church  remains.  And 
she  does  not  remain  as  a  venerable  antique 
or  as  a  show  place;  she  remains  as  God's 
house,  whose  threshold  is  worn  by  his  chil- 
dren's feet.  Those  who  are  outside  cannot 
help  but  see  the  ever-open  door,  and  on 
Sundays  the  multitudes  that  from  dawn  to 
noon  fill  it  again  and  again.  Here  are 
no  complaints  why  men  do  not  come  to 
church.  Here  are  no  laments  over  childless 
congregations.  If  men  do  not  come  to 
church  the  priest  knows  well  the  reason 
why.  He  does  not  need  to  ask  them  where 
he  fails  to  attract  them.  He  can  put  his 
finger,  with  the  ease  of  one  trained  by  long 
experience,  on  the  sore  spot,  and  knows 
the  concupiscence  of  the  flesh,  the  concu- 
piscence of  the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life. 
He  knows  the  darkness  of  the  understand- 
ing, the  weakness  of  the  will  and  the  strong 
inclination  to  evil.  He  knows  that  sin  and 
only  sin  keeps  men  away  from  church. 
Therefore  he  does  not  waste  his  time  with 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  63 

sensational  claptrap  or  vain  devices.  He 
stands  in  the  old  paths,  he  preaches  the  old 
Gospel :  ^^Do  penance,  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand." 

The  outsider,  too,  must  realize,  for  he 
sees  them  at  every  turn  that  this  is  only  one 
of  many  such  churches  in  this  city.  He 
often  wonders  how  we  are  able  to  build 
them  and  to  maintain  them.  He  often  gives 
us  credit  for  superhuman  shrewdness  and 
business  ability;  but  if  he  looks  deeper  he 
soon  learns  that,  while  one  or  two  may  have 
been  built  by  individual  munificence,  the 
vast  majority  were  founded  in  poverty  and 
rose  on  the  generous  self-sacrifice  of  priest 
and  people.  He  will  find  in  them  no  dis- 
tinction of  rich  or  poor,  of  color  or  race. 
From  the  pulpit  he  will  hear  the  rich  re- 
minded that  if  wealth  has  its  rights  it  also 
has  its  duties;  and  he  will  hear  the  poor 
taught  that  if  labor  has  its  duties,  it  also 
has  its  rights.  At  the  communion  rail  he 
will  discover  no  distinction  of  race  or  sta- 
tion. The  dividing  walls  of  nationality  are 
broken  down.  All  are  equal  before  the 
Lord  who  bought  us  all  at  the  one  price — 
Jew  and  Gentile,  Greek  and  barbarian — 


64  Altar  and  Priest 

and  he  will  confess  by  his  very  method  of 
speaking  that  this  is  a  Catholic,  that  is  to 
say,  a  Universal  Church. 

In  all  these  churches  scattered  over  this 
city — aye,  over  the  inhabited  globe — no 
matter  how  the  message  may  be  put,  for 
priests  may  differ  in  age  and  position,  in 
education  and  in  natural  talent,  he  will  hear 
only  the  one  Gospel,  and  he  will  hear  that 
Gospel  preached  not  in  the  vain  words  of 
human  wisdom  but  in  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  in  power.  He  may  ask  himself,  since 
priests  are  men,  and  men  are  human,  how  is 
this  unity  maintained  as  against  the  thou- 
sand temptations  to  diversity  and  the  un- 
ruliness  of  the  human  will?  He  will  be 
told,  if  he  seeks  the  answer  from  those  that 
know,  that  this  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  Himself,  knitting  priest  to  bishop 
and  bishop  to  bishop,  through  him  who  is 
the  center  and  source  of  unity,  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter  and  the  heir  of  that  Rock  con- 
cerning whom  is  the  Divine  promise:  *^The 
Gates  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail." 

Though  the  outsider  may  not  believe  it, 
nevertheless  is  not  this  a  noble  office  to  wit- 
ness to  such  great  truths?   At  a  time  when 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  65 

the  anarchy  that  has  so  long  prevailed  in 
religion  is  invading  the  civil  domain  and 
threatens  to  undermine  the  very  foun- 
dations of  our  civilization,  she  stands  for 
law,  she  stands  for  authority,  and  she  pro- 
claims that  the  law  is  over  peoples  as  well 
as  over  kings,  and  that  in  a  republic  as  well 
as  in  a  monarchy  all  power  is  from  God. 

At  a  time  when  unbridled  luxury  is 
breaking  the  family  bonds,  and  it  is 
preached  from  the  housetops  that  the  home 
is  but  a  survival  of  barbarism,  and  must  be 
abolished,  she  sets  her  face  like  flint  against 
the  unnatural  doctrine  and  witnesses  to  a 
stiff-necked  generation:  ^^What  God  hath 
joined  let  not  man  put  asunder." 

At  a  time  when  human  science,  puffed 
up  with  its  own  pretensions,  declares  that 
man  is  only  an  animal  to  be  perfected  by 
breeding  even  as  other  animals  are  per- 
fected, she  points  to  the  poor  broken  frame 
and  the  wasted  limbs  that  lie  helpless  on  the 
cot  of  some  charity  hospital  and  in  trumpet 
tones  cries  out:  "Thou  hast  made  him  a 
little  less  than  the  angels." 

At  a  time  when  philosophers  who,  pro- 
fessing themselves  wise,  have  become  fools, 


66  Altar  and  Priest 

publish  to  the  world  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  truth,  and  that  what  we  call  truth 
is  but  the  passing  impression  on  the  human 
mind,  as  unstable  as  the  ripples  that  run  on 
the  face  of  the  waters,  she  turns  to  her  Mas- 
ter, Christ  Jesus,  and  worships  Him  as  the 
Truth,  the  eternal  Truth.  Thou,  O  Lord, 
in  the  beginning  didst  found  the  earth,  and 
the  heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands. 
They  shall  perish,  but  Thou  shalt  continue ; 
and  they  all  shall  grow  old  as  a  garifient, 
and  as  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  change  them, 
and  they  shall  be  changed;  but  Thou  art 
ever  the  self-same,  and  Thy  years  shall  not 
fail. 

HI. 

Such  is  the  mission  of  the  Church  to 
those  who  are  within  and  to  those  who 
are  without.  To  those  who  are  within  it  is 
the  house  of  God;  to  those  who  are  with- 
out it  is  an  ever-speaking  witness  of  God's 
presence  on  earth  and  of  God's  law.  The 
root  of  both  functions  is  the  same,  namely, 
that  Jesus  Christ  abides  with  His  Church 
forever,  as  He  promised:    *^Lo,  I  am  with 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  67 

you  all  days,  even  unto  the  consummation 
of  the  world." 

And  now  the  ceremony  of  the  rededica- 
tion  of  this  temple  must  move  to  its  close. 
Our  Lord  is  coming  back  to  His  own 
house,  whence  He  has  been  exiled  so  long. 
The  relics  of  the  saints  have  been  deposited 
in  the  altar,  and  the  solemn  rite  of  sacrifice 
has  begun.  Soon  the  words  of  consecration 
will  be  spoken,  and  Christ  will  descend 
from  heaven  and  take  up  His  abode  in  His 
tabernacle.  O  wonderful  mystery  of  love! 
You  will  not  see  Him  come  with  your  bod- 
ily eyes ;  you  will  not  hear  with  the  ears  of 
the  flesh  the  sound  of  His  footfall.  You  will 
bow  your  head  in  believing  adoration,  and 
you  will  hear  only  the  tinkling  of  the  bell 
and  the  low  murmur  of  the  Mass. 

But,  Sursum  Corda !  Lift  up  your  hearts. 
Behold  with  the  eyes  of  faith  how  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  arisen  upon  this  house.  Lift 
up  your  eyes  towards  the  mountains  whence 
your  help  will  come,  and  see  the  day  spring 
from  on  high  and  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
Man  in  the  heavens.  He  cometh  from  the 
east,  and  hark!  how  the  earth  trembles  as 
He  ascends  upon  the  cherubim  and  flies  on 


68  Altar  and  Priest 

the  wings  of  the  wind.  He  comes,  but  not 
alone.  His  blessed  Mother  is  with  Him,  and 
He  is  surrounded  by  the  legions  of  angels 
that  Holy  Church  prays  may  be  deputed  to 
keep  watch  and  ward  over  this  spot  forever. 
He  comes  accompanied  by  the  patroness  of 
this  church,  the  Rose  of  the  Indies,  and  by 
the  saints  whose  relics  are  here.  ^^Move  ye, 
O  saints  of  God,  move  ye  from  your  dwell- 
ing place.  Hasten  ye  to  the  places  prepared 
for  your."  He  comes  with  the  saints  of  this 
parish  who  worked  out  their  salvation  here 
— your  own  flesh  and  blood,  whose  faces  and 
names  you  have  not  forgotten.  There  is  not 
absent,  we  are  sure,  the  first  pastor  and 
founder  of  this  church  and  the  departed 
priests  who  have  ministered  at  these  altars. 
Saints  and  angels  and  the  King  of  angels, 
behold  how  quickly  they  hasten  to  their 
home!  Down  the  steeps  of  heaven,  over 
land  and  sea,  over  mountains  and  rivers, 
they  sweep  as  a  host  with  banners,  terrible 
as  an  army  set  in  battle  array.  Like  the 
voice  of  the  thunder,  like  the  sound  of  many 
waters,  rises  their  marching  hymn : 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  69 

The  earth  is  the  Lord^s,  and  the  fullness 

thereof, 
The  world  and  all  that  dwell  therein : 
For  He  hath  founded  it  upon  the  seas, 
And  on  the  rivers  hath  He  established  it. 

Christ  is  coming  to  His  own ;  He  is  Lord 
of  all  things,  and  hath  need  of  nothing.  For 
the  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it,  and  His 
hands  have  formed  the  dry  land.  We 
merely  give  Him  back  His  own  when  we 
offer  Him  this  temple  for  His  dwelling 
place.  He  is  coming  unto  His  own,  and  His 
own  are  ready  to  receive  Him. 

Behold  now  the  mighty  train  is  at  hand, 
even  at  the  doors.  It  stands  before  the 
closed  portals,  and  the  thunder  of  the  hymns 
rolls  through  the  sky: 

Lift  up  your  gates,  O  ye  princes. 
And  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors. 
And  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in. 

Like  the  voice  of  a  silver  trumpet  be- 
neath a  dome ;  like  the  cry  of  a  sentinel  on 
an  outer  wall,  the  challenge  rises  and  falls: 

Who  is  this  King  of  Glory? 

The  answer  comes  as  the  crash  of  brazen 


70  Altar  and  Priest 

cymbals,  as  the  sound  of  harpers  harping 
upon  their  harps,  as  the  roar  of  the  surf 
upon  the  sea  shore: 

The  Lord,  strong  and  mighty. 
The  Lord  mighty  in  battle ; 

Lift  up  your  gates,  O  ye  princes ; 
Yea,  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors. 
And  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in. 

Lo!  the  gates  swing  back,  and  the  great 
procession  streams  through  the  portals  and 
sweeps  up  the  aisle — apostles  and  martyrs, 
confessors  and  virgins,  and  the  humble 
saints  whose  names  are  known  to  God  alone. 
Behold  the  stately  tread  of  angels  and  arch- 
angels, of  thrones  and  dominations,  of  prin- 
cipalities and  powers.  Yea!  here  are  the 
veiled  seraphim  and  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
Man.  Onward  they  advance  to  the  sanc- 
tuary. Rank  above  rank  they  arrange  them- 
selves about  the  altar.  The  solemn  moment 
has  come.  At  the  appointed  words  Christ 
seats  Himself  on  the  throne  of  His  majesty. 
Angels  and  archangels  and  the  whole  army 
of  the  heavenly  host  and  the  spirits  of  the 
just  made  perfect — they  all  fall  down  be- 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  71 

fore  Him  and  cast  their  golden  crowns  up- 
on the  ringing  pavement,  and  their  voices 
shake  the  heavens  as  they  cry:  ^^Holy,  holy, 
holy  Lord,  God  Almighty,  who  was  and 
who  is  and  who  is  to  come." 

But  you  only  bow  your  heads,  and  you 
only  hear  the  tinkling  of  the  bell  and  the 
low  murmur  of  the  Mass.  ^^O  blessed  are 
ye  who  have  not  seen  and  have  believed." 

And  now,  since  the  Lord  is  in  His  holy 
temple,  see  that  He  may  find  in  it  nothing 
that  may  offend  His  majesty.  Remember 
that  this  temple  made  by  hands  is  only  an 
allegory  of  the  temple  not  made  by  hands. 
Ye  are  the  temple  of  God.  Your  bodies  are 
the  tabernacles  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Take 
care  that  you  defile  not  His  sanctuary.  Once 
our  Lord  came  to  His  temple.  He  came  in 
wrath.  *^My  house,"  He  said,  ^4s  the  house 
of  prayer,  but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves."  Let  us  therefore  see  that  our 
hearts  are  swept  and  garnished  and  that  the 
doors  of  our  minds  are  well  guarded  against 
the  evil  spirit  that  would  break  in  and  steal. 

For  our  destiny  is  glorious.  Soon  this 
body  of  ours  will  be  dissolved,  even  as  this 
building  we  dedicate  will  sooner  or  later 


72  Altar  and  Priest 

crumble  and  disappear,  for  the  earth  shall 
pass  away  and  the  glory  thereof.  Then,  as  St. 
John  saw  it  in  Patmos,  the  new  Jerusalem 
shall  come  down  from  heaven,  adorned  as  a 
bride  to  meet  her  spouse.  And  the  streets 
of  the  city  are  golden  and  its  walls  are  of 
precious  stones — jasper  and  sapphire  and 
emerald  and  amethyst.  Now,  these  precious 
stones  are  our  souls,  hewn  and  squared  and 
polished  by  temptation  and  sorrow  and 
suffering  in  this  world  and  fitted  into  the 
everlasting  structure  by  the  hands  of  the 
Master  Builder,  Christ  Jesus  Himself. 

Let  us  give  thanks  therefore  this  day  to 
the  Lord  our  God,  who  hath  magnified  His 
mercies  towards  us.  Let  us  pray  Him  that 
we  may  find  this  house  the  very  gate  of 
heaven,  by  which  we  may  come  to  Mount 
Sion,  and  to  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  the  company 
of  many  thousands  of  angels,  and  to  the 
Church  of  the  firstborn  who  are  written  in 
the  heavens,  and  to  God,  the  judge  of  all, 
and  to  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect, 
and  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  Mediator  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  to  the  blood  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel, 


The  Return  of  the  Ark  73 

through  which  blood  we  have  remission  of 
our  sins  by  the  mercy  of  our  great  high 
priest,  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  power  and 
praise  and  glory  world  without  end.    Amen. 


THE  ARMY  OF  GOD 


The  Dedication  of  St.  JarUtKs  Church, 
Fruitvale,   CaL,   Sunday,  May   7,   19!!. 


THE  ARMY  OF  GOD 

We  have  come  together  to-day  for  the 
purpose  of  dedicating  this  building  to  the 
service  of  God.  With  sacred  rites  it  has  been 
given  over  to  the  worship  of  the  Creator. 
It  is  no  longer  a  hall  or  a  meeting  house. 
It  has  become  a  church,  and  the  word 
^^church,"  when  translated,  signifies  the 
house  of  the  Lord. 

In  the  days  of  old,  when  Moses  in  the 
desert  beheld  the  bush  that  burned  and  was 
not  consumed,  he  heard  a  voice  from  the 
midst  of  the  bush  saying,  ^Tut  off  thy  shoes 
from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  where  thou 
standest  is  holy  ground."  Henceforth  this 
is  holy  ground. 

When  Solomon  dedicated  his  temple  to 
God  he  cried  out: 

^^Is  it  to  be  thought,  that  God  should 
dwell  upon  earth?  For  if  the  heaven  of 
heavens  can  not  contain  Thee,  how  much 
less  this  house  which  I  have  built?  But  let 
Thine  eyes  be  upon  this  house  night  and 
day,  and  hear  the  prayers  that  Thy  serv- 


78  Altar  and  Priest 

ants  pray  to  Thee,  and  hearing  forgive  their 


sins." 


So  this  house  has  been  dedicated  to  God, 
but  with  a  higher  and  holier  sanction ;  for 
behold  a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here. 
Then  the  majesty  of  God  came  as  a  cloud 
and  filled  the  temple,  but  here  God  Himself 
has  taken  up  his  abode.  Then  God  was  far 
off;  now  He  is  Emmanuel — God  with  us. 
He  has  come  in  the  flesh,  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  made  man  like  unto  us  in  everything 
save  sin.  By  a  wonderful  condescension  of 
His  goodness  He  has  left  us  His  very  body 
and  His  very  blood  to  be  the  food  of  our 
souls.  There  in  the  tabernacle  dwells  Jesus 
Christ,  inviting  you,  expecting  you  to  come 
to  Him  with  your  joys  and  your  sorrows, 
your  hopes  and  your  fears.  This  is  in  very 
truth  the  house  of  the  Lord  and  your  house, 
for  Jesus  is  our  brother,  and  He  has  taught 
us  to  say,  *^Our  Father." 

This  must  be  a  joyful  day  for  the  people 
of  this  new  parish.  The  word  ^^parish" 
means  neighborhood,  and  this  neighborhood 
now  has  its  center.  This  church  belongs  to 
you  all.  Here  will  your  little  children  be 
baptized.      Here    they    will    receive    the 


The  Army  of  God  79 

strength  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  confirmation. 
From  this  tabernacle  Jesus  will  come  to 
them  in  Holy  Communion.  Before  this  al- 
tar men  and  women  shall  plight  their  troth 
in  Christian  marriage.  From  these  doors 
shall  be  brought  to  you  the  oil  of  healing 
in  your  sickness  and  the  Body  of  Christ  for 
the  Viaticum  of  your  souls.  Here  you  shall 
lie  for  the  last  time  to  receive  the  absolution 
of  Mother  Church  before  you  are  carried  to 
your  last  home.  Yes,  this  is  the  very  center 
of  your  neighborhood,  and  you  are  bound 
to  it  by  ties  stronger  than  the  bands  of 
Adam. 

This  church  which  you  have  built  is  not 
a  new  church  in  the  sense  that  the  altar  you 
have  set  up  here  is  not  set  up  against  other 
altars.  In  ancient  times,  when  cities  were 
small  and  compact,  there  was  only  one 
church  in  each  town,  in  order  to  emphasize 
the  unity  of  the  Christian  body.  In  large 
cities,  as,  for  instance,  in  Rome,  when  sub- 
sidiary churches  had  to  be  built.  Mass  was 
said  in  all  of  them  at  the  same  time,  and 
after  the  Pater  Noster  and  the  breaking  of 
the  bread  a  portion  of  the  Host  was  carried 
from  the  Pope's  altar  to  every  other  altar 


8o  Altar  and  Priest 

in  the  city  and  mingled  with  the  chalice  to 
show  the  unity  of  the  sacrifice  and  the  unity 
of  the  Church.  For  that  reason  no  new 
church  can  be  erected  without  the  permis- 
sion of  the  bishop.  For  that  reason  the 
Archbishop  himself  comes  to  dedicate  this 
building  to-day.  It  is  by  his  authority  it 
was  founded,  and  it  is  by  his  authority  that 
its  doors  are  opened.  He  represents  the 
center  about  which  we  all  revolve.  His  ca- 
thedral is  called  the  Metropolitan  Church; 
that  is  to  say,  the  Mother  Church  of  the  dio- 
cese. Around  it  are  gathered  all  the  other 
churches  as  daughters  around  the  mother. 
Into  that  sacred  circle  this  church  is  to-day 
admitted  by  none  less  than  the  head  of  the 
Church  himself. 

As  it  is  in  the  diocese  so  it  is  in  the  Uni- 
versal Church.  Christ  has  fixed  the  center 
of  unity,  the  indestructible  rock,  Peter  and 
his  successors.  Around  the  Pope  of  Rome 
stand  the  bishops  and  archbishops  of  the 
Catholic  world.  United  with  that  rock, 
they  are  united  with  themselves.  Around 
them  stand  their  proper  clergy,  and  around 
their  clergy  are  gathered  their  faithful 
flocks.     What  a  wonderful  spectacle,  this 


The  Army  of  God  8i 

unity  of  government  in  the  Catholic 
Church !  —  all  races,  all  nations,  all  tongues, 
all  tribes,  welded  into  one  mighty  organism 
for  the  service  of  Almighty  God. 

No  wonder  we  make  unity  to  be  a  mark 
of  the  true  Church.  If  there  is  any  fact 
demonstrable  from  human  history,  it  is  the 
tendency  of  mankind  to  divide.  Great  em- 
pires and  kingdoms  have  sprung  up  and 
flourished,  but  the  law  of  death  was  upon 
them  all,  and  they  decayed  and  passed  away. 
Even  in  this  most  flourishing  civilization  of 
ours  is  not  the  same  law  working  even  vis- 
ibly? The  Church  herself  is  not  free  from 
its  effects.  Behold  how  schism  after  schism 
has  rent  her  ranks,  and  heresy  after  heresy 
seduced  her  children.  In  the  fourth  century 
the  world  wondered  to  find  itself  Arian ;  in 
the  sixteenth  Europe  seemed  to  have  allied 
itself  with  the  gates  of  hell;  in  the  twen- 
tieth Antichrist  appears  to  be  completing 
the  seduction  of  the  peoples.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  it  all,  though  thrones  are  shaken  and  fall, 
though  nations  sink  down  into  the  grave, 
though  apostles  betray  and  stars  fall  from 
heaven,  the  Catholic  Church  stands  majestic 
in  her  unity,  looming  larger  and  larger  in 


82  Altar  and  Priest 

the  minds  of  men  who,  though  they  hate  her, 
cannot  ignore  her,  and  shining  beautiful 
and  yet  more  beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  her 
faithful  children — the  tower  of  David,  the 
house  of  gold,  the  gate  of  heaven. 

This  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  not 
a  mere  mechanical  unity  enforced  by  out- 
ward discipline.  It  is  possible  to  drill  an 
army  of  discontented  men  into  a  semblance 
of  unity,  but  once  remove  the  exterior  force 
and  the^discipline  disappears.  The  unity  of 
the  government  of  the  Catholic  Church 
springs  from  an  interior  principle.  It  is  a 
product  of  the  unity  of  the  faith.  All  these 
different  races  have  been  welded  into  one 
mighty  army  because  they  all  believe  the 
same  doctrine :  One  Lord,  one  Father,  one 
Baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  All. 

This  unity  is  even  more  wonderful  than 
the  unity  of  government.  See  to-day,  as  in 
every  age,  how  true  is  the  old  saying,  ^^Many 
men,  many  minds."  Every  one  seems  to  be 
a  law  to  himself.  Books  are  pouring  out  of 
the  printing  presses,  and  every  book  has  a 
different  philosophy.  Every  street  corner 
is  vocal  with  orators,  and  every  orator  has  a 
different  message.     New  religions  are  in-. 


The  Army  of  God  83 

vented  every  day,  and  old  religions  are  made 
over  while  you  wait.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this 
babel,  there  is  one  voice  that  speaks  with 
certainty,  one  trumpet  that  sounds  no  wa- 
vering note.  Through  the  Catholic  Church 
Jesus  Christ  speaks  to  the  world  as  He 
spake  to  them  on  the  mountain,  and  it  was 
noticed  that  He  spake  not  as  Scribe  or  Phar- 
isee, but  as  one  having  authority.  And  the 
people  know  the  voice  and  hear  it  gladly, 
and  obey. 

In  the  old  days,  when  kings  went  forth  to 
war  their  armies  were  drawn  up  in  battle 
array,  and  down  the  lines  the  monarch  rode 
with  his  standard,  and  like  peal  after  peal  of 
thunder  rose  the  war  cry  of  the  soldiers  as 
they  cheered  their  commander  and  strength- 
ened their  hearts  for  the  fray.  So  it  is  with 
the  great  army  of  Christ,  Sunday  by  Sunday 
we  are  summoned  to  our  churches  as  to  the 
battlefield;  company  by  company  we  stand 
before  our  altars  and  listen  to  the  words  of 
Christ.  And  when  the  Gospel  is  sung  and 
the  sermon  is  preached  we  spring  to  our  feet, 
and  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going 
down  of  the  same  our  battle  cry  rings  round 


84  Altar  and  Priest 

the  world  as  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation, 
Christ  Jesus,  passes  by: 

^^Credo  in  Unum  Deum" — ^^I  believe  in 
one  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth  and  of  all  things  visible 
and  invisible.  And  in  one  Lord,  Jesus 
Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  born 
of  the  Father  before  all  ages,  God  of  God, 
Light  of  Light,  true  God  of  true  God,  be- 
gotten, not  made,  consubstantial  with  the 
Father,  by  whom  all  things  were  made." 

And  this  unity  is  not  only  for  this  day  and 
these  times ;  it  binds  us  to  every  age  of  the 
Church.  There  are  no  new  discoveries  in 
religion.  There  are  no  modern  improve- 
ments on  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  We  believe  what  the  Apostles  taught 
to  their  age,  and  the  same  doctrine  was 
taught  by  their  successors  to  every  age,  for 
they  were  dealing  with  the  same  human  soul 
and  the  same  human  needs.  So  it  was  that 
when  a  name  was  sought  for  this  church  the 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop  suggested  the  name 
of  St.  Jarlath,  the  patron  of  the  diocese 
where  your  pastor  was  born  and  of  the 
college  where  he  and  I  studied. 

St.  Jarlath  carries  us  back  to  the  sixth  can- 


The  Army  of  God  85 

tury  and  to  the  generation  that  succeeded 
St.  Patrick  in  Ireland.  His  name  means 
^Trince  of  the  West."  But  little  is  known 
of  his  career  save  that  he  founded  a  school 
in  the  Vale  of  the  Lark,  and  that  he 
was  bishop  of  a  see  that  afterwards  be- 
came one  of  the  four  archbishoprics  of 
Ireland,  namely,  Tuam,  in  the  Province  of 
Connacht. 

But  the  name  of  St.  Jarlath  has  played  no 
inconspicuous  part  in  the  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  is  startling  to  re- 
member that  we  have  not  yet  celebrated  the 
centenary  of  Catholic  Emancipation.  A 
hundred  years  ago  in  Ireland  a  Catholic 
dared  hardly  call  his  soul  his  own.  True,  in 
consequence  of  the  American  Revolution,  a 
few  amendments  had  been  made  to  that  bru- 
tal code,  according  to  which,  in  the  words 
of  an  English  judge,  ^^a  Catholic  was  not 
presumed  by  the  law  to  draw  a  breath  of  air 
in  Ireland.''  Still  the  Catholics  were  de- 
barred from  public  life  and  subject  to  all 
manner  of  disabilities.  A  hundred  years 
ago,  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  a  young 
man  was  studying  for  the  priesthood  who 
was  destined,  after  Daniel  O'Connell,  to  be 


86  Altar  and  Priest 

one  of  the  chief  instruments  in  liberating 
the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland — John  Mc- 
Hale.  In  the  long  struggle  for  religious  and 
civil  liberty  these  two  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder  for  the  right.  When  McHale  be- 
came Archbishop  of  Tuam  his  letters  dated 
from  his  palace  of  St.  Jarlath  were  read 
through  Europe  and  America.  The  London 
Times  used  to  sneer,  ^^Another  Roar  from 
the  Lion  of  St.  Jarlath's,"  but  in  spite  of 
sneering  it  was  the  Lion  of  St.  Jarlath's  who 
awoke  the  spirit  of  men  in  his  downtrodden 
countrymen. 

And  not  in  Ireland  alone.  When  Mon- 
talembert  and  his  companions  fought  the 
battle  of  religious  liberty  in  France,  O'Con- 
nell  and  McHale  were  his  guiding  stars. 
Later  on  in  the  century,  when  Bismarck  be- 
gan the  so-called  Culturkampf  in  Germany 
it  was  the  names  of  O'Connell  and  McHale 
that  strengthened  Windthorst  and  the  Cen- 
trum to  that  magnificent  struggle  that  at  last 
brought  the  man  of  blood  and  iron  on  his 
knees  to  Canossa. 

So  you  see  you  have  invoked  upon  you  a 
glorious  name — clarum  ac  venerabile  no- 
men.    I  am  sure  there  is  no  need  of  exhort- 


The  Army  of  God  87 

ing  you  to  be  worthy  of  it.  Rally  round  your 
pastor.  For  many  years  he  has  been  my 
companion  and  my  friend.  But  you  know 
his  worth  as  well  as  I  do.  After  all,  once 
upon  a  time,  all  this  territory  belonged  to  St. 
Anthony.  He  was  no  stranger  to  you  when 
he  came  as  your  pastor.  You  have  done 
well.  Continue  your  good  work.  Here  in 
this  most  beautiful  part  of  Oakland,  in  this 
fertile  valley,  may  a  new  St.  Jarlath's  arise 
as  splendid  as  that  whose  beginnings  were 
laid  in  the  far-oflf  Vale  of  the  Lark.  Here 
may  your  children  and  your  children's  chil- 
dren grow  up  in  the  shelter  of  the  taber- 
nacle. Here  may  they  knit  close  to  their 
souls  the  truths  of  the  faith,  here  may  they 
be  clad  with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and 
here  from  the  name  of  Jarlath  may  they 
learn  to  be  courageous  in  the  profession  of 
their  religion,  and  not  to  be  ashamed  when 
confronted  by  the  enemy  nor  to  be  afraid 
with  their  fear. 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  HOLINESS 


The  Reopening  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales*  Church, 
Oakland,    Cal,    Sunday^,    November    19,    1911. 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  HOLINESS 

^^And  Jacob  departed  from  Bersabee, 
and  went  on  to  Haran.  And  when  he  was 
come  to  a  certain  place,  and  would  tarry 
in  it,  because  the  sun  was  set,  he  took 
one  of  the  stones  that  lay  there,  and  put 
it  under  his  head  for  a  pillow,  and  lay 
down  to  sleep  in  the  same  place.  And 
he  saw  in  his  sleep  a  ladder  set  up  on 
the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached  to 
heaven:  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  on  it.  .  .  .  And  when 
Jacob  awaked  out  of  his  sleep,  he  said: 
^Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I 
knew  it  not.'  And  he  was  afraid,  and 
said:  ^How  dreadful  is  this  place!  This 
is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and 
this  is  the  gate  of  heaven.' " — Genesis, 
xxviii. 

In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.    Amen. 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Rever- 
end Fathers,  it  is  my  pleasant  duty  to-day 
to  congratulate  Father  McSweeney  on  the 
completion  of  the  task  of  frescoing  this 
beautiful    church,    thus    making    it    more 


92  Altar  and  Priest 

worthy  of  the  service  of  God.  With  him 
I  congratulate  Father  Keane,  the  other 
priests,  and  the  people  of  the  parish.  I 
congratulate  the  diocese  in  the  person  of 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  on  possess- 
ing so  splendid  an  edifice.  I  congratulate 
the  city  of  Oakland  on  this  betterment  of 
one  of  the  handsomest  among  its  rapidly 
growling  tale  of  public  buildings.  I  must 
by  no  means  omit  to  congratulate  the  artist, 
Mr.  O'SuUivan,  and  his  assistants,  for  it  is 
to  their  inspiration,  taste  and  toil  w^e  owe 
it,  as  we  look  round  on  those  pictured 
walls  and  follow  the  Divine  Tragedy 
through  its  joys,  its  sorrows  and  its  glories 
that  our  hearts  are  made  to  feel  how  we  are 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of 
witnesses,  and  we  realize  that  here  rests 
the  foot  of  the  ladder  the  Patriarch  saw 
in  his  dream,  that  this  truly  is  the  house 
of  God,  that  here  indeed  is  the  gate  of 
heaven. 

The  thought  that  inspires  those  paint- 
ings and  the  instinct  that  makes  us  take 
pleasure  in  them  arise  from  the  fact  that 
here  we  have  no  abiding  city.  We  are 
strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  this  earth,  and 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  93 

our  hearts  untraveled  fondly  turn  to  our 
kith  and  kin.  As  the  exile  rejoices  when  on 
a  foreign  strand  he  beholds  something  that 
reminds  him  of  his  native  place  where  he 
hopes  to  return,  or  is  melted  to  tears  as 
he  gazes  on  the  picture  of  his  loved  ones 
whom  he  expects  some  day  to  rejoin,  so 
our  souls  are  stirred  and  our  hearts  are 
lifted  up  when  the  seeing  mind  and  the 
cunning  hand  of  the  artist  body  forth  the 
forms  of  our  fellow  citizens,  the  angels 
and  the  saints,  the  sweet  face  of  our 
Mother  and  the  tender  majesty  of  our  Lord 
and  Master,  whose  pierced  feet  still  tread 
the  rough  ways  of  this  world  that  He  may 
bring  God's  children  home. 

The  earliest  prayer  we  learned  at  our 
mother's  knee  taught  us  to  call  God  ^^Our 
Father;"  the  earliest  instruction  we  re- 
ceived in  the  relations  of  God  and  man  was, 
that  He  had  made  us  for  Himself.  ^Tear 
not,  Abraham,  for  I  am  thy  reward  exceed- 
ing great."  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
that  in  heaven  the  blessed  enjoy  the  vision 
of  God.  Human  nature,  indeed,  of  itself 
is  incapable  of  seeing  God  face  to  face,  but 
in   His  superabounding  mercy  He  pours 


94  Altar  and  Priest 

His  grace  and  His  strength  into  the  souls 
of  the  elect  until  their  eyes  are  enabled 
to  endure  the  light  of  His  countenance  and 
their  hearts  to  feast  on  the  beauty  that  is 
ever  ancient  and  ever  new. 

It  is  because  men  were  made  to  enjoy 
the  uncreated  beauty  of  God  that  even  on 
earth  we  appreciate  and  desire  the  beauti- 
ful. True,  we  have  in  common  with  the 
lower  animals  a  sense  of  beauty  that  is 
complicated  with  passion;  but  man  has 
what  the  animal  has  not — the  power  of 
finding  and  enjoying  beauty  in  things  that 
only  touch  the  soul.  The  old  paganism 
and  the  new  seek  to  minister  to  the  fleshly 
eye  and  the  carnal  ear,  but  the  highest  and 
noblest  feelings  of  beauty  are  aroused  by 
music  that  transports  us  to  the  threshold 
of  the  heavenly  choirs  or  by  paintings  in 
which  the  artist's  brush  has  imprisoned 
the  light  that  never  was  on  sea  or  land. 

This  appreciation  of  beauty  is  universal. 
The  rudest  mind  is  charmed  with  the 
sights  and  sounds  of  nature;  the  deepest 
culture  pays  homage  at  the  shrine  of  art. 
What  man  so  debased  that  he  can  gaze 
stolid  on  the  wonders  of  Yosemite  or  look 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  9J 

untouched  as  the  pure  snow  peak  of  Shasta 
blushes  at  the  last  glance  of  departing  day? 
What  man  so  coldly  intellectual  that  he 
will  not  thrill  at  the  sight  of  the  young 
sun-god  whose  marble  muscles  seem  to 
move  as  with  clanging  quiver  he  descends 
in  wrath  to  smite  the  Grecian  ships?  What 
soul  so  dead  that  it  will  not  stir  with  pity 
as  it  beholds  how  genius  has  drawn  from 
the  shapeless  stone  the  image  of  the  only 
Son,  who  with  bloody  side  lies  dead  on 
His  Mother's  heart  that  the  sword  has 
pierced! 

Even  though  we  see  now  as  in  a  glass 
darkly,  yet  we  hunger  after  beauty — and 
beauty  of  the  highest  type.  We  are  will- 
ing to  spend  our  time  and  money  in  pro- 
ducing it,  we  compass  land  and  sea  to  find 
it,  and  with  it  fill  our  souls.  As  in  the  lone 
watches  of  the  night,  when  sleep  has  fled 
our  pillow,  we  sometimes  strive  to  recon- 
struct a  scene  we  have  half  forgotten  or  to 
recall  a  melody  whose  broken  strains 
barely  haunt  our  memories,  so  it  would 
seem  that  through  all  the  ages  the  exiled 
children  of  Eve,  in  their  wanderings  up 
and  down  this  valley  of  tears,  have  sought 


96  Altar  and  Priest 

to  reproduce  the  blurred  and  fading  lines 
of  the  vision  that  dawned  on  Adam's 
eyes  when  he  opened  them  amid  the 
beauty  of  Paradise — it  would  seem  as  if 
the  human  heart  ever  hungered  to  hear 
again  the  wondrous  music  that  fell  on 
Adam's  ear  what  time  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
rang  out  in  blessing  on  him  and  his  pos- 
terity and  gave  them  dominion  over  land 
and  sea. 

Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  beauty 
is  always  associated  with  religion  and 
the  service  of  God.  The  scattered  chil- 
dren of  Adam  retained  this  portion  of 
the  primitive  revelation,  and  even  when 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened  and  they 
changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible 
God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corrupt- 
ible man,  they  idealized  the  human  form 
and  rendered  it  as  beautiful  as  their  taste 
could  conceive  or  their  art  effect.  To- 
day our  museums  are  filled  with  images 
of  the  pagan  gods,  priceless  not  for 
any  religious  sentiments  we  attach  to 
them,  but  for  their  marvelous  beauty; 
while  of  all  the  edifices  of  the  ancient 
civilizations  that  still  remain,  by  far  the 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  97 

largest  number  were  devoted  to  worship. 
After  five  thousand  years  men  still  bow 
in  awe  before  the  solemn  beauty  of  the 
temples  that  look  out  over  the  sands  of 
Egypt  or  are  mirrored  in  the  swelling 
waters  of  the  Nile.  The  old  world  and 
the  new  pay  tribute  to  the  shattered  fane 
which  the  Athenians  erected  in  honor  of 
their  virgin  patroness  and  to  the  relics  of 
the  surrounding  shrines  that  adorned  the 
city  as  with  a  crown.  From  far  and  near 
travelers  still  come  to  meditate  by  the 
hearth  of  Vesta  at  the  foot  of  the  fire- 
scarred  columns  of  the  Twin  Brethren 
that  rise  amid  the  wreck  of  what  was 
once  the  center  of  the  world,  the  Forum  of 
imperial  Rome. 

But  it  was  among  the  people  that  God 
had  chosen  as  the  guardians  and  witnesses 
of  His  revelation  that  men  best  under- 
stood the  beauty  of  holiness.  Of  the 
great  temple  of  Jerusalem,  according  to 
prophecy,  not  a  stone  is  left  upon  a  stone, 
but  the  unanimous  testimony  of  antiquity 
establishes  its  unique  grandeur.  By  the 
command  of  God  Himself  a  house  was 
built  on  which   His   name   might  be  not 


98  Altar  and  Priest 

unworthily  invoked.  Gold  and  silver  and 
precious  woods,  the  genius  of  the  builder 
and  the  art  of  the  craftsman  were  bestowed 
without  stint  on  its  construction.  From  its 
adamantine  foundations  it  loomed  up  over 
Sion,  and  its  golden  pinnacles  caught  the 
rays  of  the  sun  before  he  had  topped  the 
hills  of  Moab  and  held  them  after  he  had 
hastened  down  into  the  western  sea. 
Through  vast  courts  and  noble  porticoes 
passed  processions  of  priests  and  levites 
clad  in  splendid  raiment,  while  choir  an- 
swered unto  choir  in  music  whose  very 
memory  ravished  the  soul  of  the  exiled 
Israelite  into  song: 

^^How  lovely  art  Thy  tabernacles,  O 
Lord  of  hosts!  My  soul  longeth  and 
fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord." 

The  beginnings  of  Christianity  were 
not  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  reli- 
gious art.  ^^Not  many  wise  according  to 
the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many 
noble,''  was  St.  Paul's  description  of  the 
Church  in  one  of  the  richest  cities  of  the 
empire.  The  first  believers  were  harried 
off  the  face  of  the  earth  by  pagan  perse- 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  99 

cution,  yet  even  in  the  Catacombs  we  find 
the  instinct  of  beauty  active  and  the  first 
pale  shoots  of  what  was  to  become  so  wide- 
spreading  a  tree.  There  on  the  rough 
plaster  we  see  the  Saviour  figured  as  the 
Good  Shepherd  or  as  Orpheus,  whose 
music  charmed  hell  to  give  up  its  dead. 
There  is  the  mystic  Fish  set  in  the  Eu- 
charistic  banquet;  and  the  Vine,  which  is 
Christ,  trails  along  the  wall.  The  Wise 
Men  of  the  East  do  homage  to  the  Child 
they  found  with  His  mother,  and  the 
Church  with  uplift  hands  prays  for  the 
living  and  the  dead.  When,  after  three 
hundred  years,  peace  came  under  Con- 
stantine,  great  basilicas  arose  over  the 
tombs  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Sepulcher 
of  our  Lord.  Though  the  empire  was  de- 
clining, its  resources  were  still  equal  to 
building  and  adorning  many  a  fane  until 
its  highest  point  was  reached  and  Solomon 
himself  conquered  when  in  New  Rome 
Justinian  raised  the  mighty  mass  of  St. 
Sophia,  an  achievement  not  surpassed  un- 
til, after  the  revival  of  the  literature  and 
ideals  of  the  ancient  world,  Michael  An- 
gelo   consecrated   to    religion   two   of   the 


lOO  Altar  and  Priest 

noblest  monuments  of  old  Rome,  and, 
piling  the  Pantheon  of  Hadrian  on  the 
Basilica  of  Constantine,  erected  over  the 
tomb  of  the  Fisherman 

"The  dome — the  vast  and  wondrous  dome, 
To  which  Diana's  marvel  was  a  cell." 

But  it  was  meet  that  Christianity  should 
not  be  a  mere  borrower  of  the  treasures 
of  antiquity,  and,  as  she  had  evolved 
her  own  literature,  so  she  should  evolve 
her  own  art.  In  Europe,  however,  for 
centuries  the  times  were  not  propitious. 
The  barbarians  had  successfully  broken 
the  spell  of  the  Roman  peace,  and  chaos 
reigned  in  the  land.  In  those  circum- 
stances art  fled  to  the  cloisters  and  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  adorning  of  the 
shrines  of  the  saints  or  the  vessels  of  the 
altar,  and  to  transcribing  and  illuminating 
the  text  of  Holy  Writ.  In  one  museum 
of  Dublin  may  be  seen  to-day  what  has 
been  called  the  most  beautiful  book  in  the 
world — the  Book  of  Kells,  a  copy  of  the 
Gospels  illuminated  by  the  hands  of  Irish 
monks,  and  in  another  the  work  of  an 
Irish  goldsmith,   the   Cross  of  Cong,   the 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  loi 

most  graceful  and  elegant  treatment  that 
human  genius  has  ever  bestowed  on  the 
simple  elements  of  the  sign  of  salvation. 

In  Italy,  and  especially  in  Tuscany, 
when  law  and  order  were  in  some  meas- 
ure restored,  the  stiff  and  conventional  tra- 
ditions into  which  the  ancient  art  had 
hardened  began  gradually  to  soften  and 
to  live.  The  gloomy  churches  soon  shone 
with  golden  angels,  and  along  the  cloister 
walls  marched  the  resplendent  procession 
of  the  saints.  The  climax  of  love  and 
purity  was  reached  in  those  innumerable 
pictures  of  the  Mother  and  Child  that 
still  have  power,  even  in  the  uncongenial 
surroundings  of  a  museum,  to  touch  the 
heart  with  religious  feeling.  The  height 
of  all  art  was  achieved  in  the  beauty  of 
suffering  when  the  unbelievable  report  of 
the  prophet  was  bodied  forth  in  some 
altar  piece  that  a  smitten  man  should  reign 
in  majesty  from  the  shameful  tree. 

It  was  in  Northern  France  that  architec- 
ture received  its  Christian  development. 
While  St.  Patrick  was  still  preaching  in 
Ireland  he  tells  us  that  collections  were 
taken  up  in   all   the   churches   to   ransom 


I02  Altar  and  Priest 

the  Christians  of  Gaul,  who  had  been  en- 
slaved by  the  pagan  Franks.  Soon  after- 
wards, under  their  king,  Clovis,  they  be- 
came Catholics  and  began  their  memo- 
rable career  of  service  in  the  cause  of 
Christ.  It  was  seven  hundred  years,  how- 
ever, before  their  genius  turned  from  arms 
to  art.  By  the  end  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury the  barbarian  invasions  had  ceased, 
and  Western  Europe  enjoyed  a  return  of 
prosperity.  Straightway  an  era  of  church 
building  began,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Dead  Sea,  wherever  Prankish  influ- 
ence was  felt,  cathedrals  and  churches 
sprang  up  as  suddenly  as  in  a  spring  night 
a  Californian  hillside  robes  itself  in  the 
wild  flowers'  purple  and  gold. 

A  new  style  of  building  had  been  born. 
Its  enemies  have  nicknamed  it  Gothic,  and 
of  a  truth,  while  reared  on  the  Roman 
foundations,  it  was  the  response  to  the  call 
of  the  forest  in  the  blood  of  the  Franks. 
For  untold  centuries  before  they  had 
crossed  the  Rhine  they  had  lived  among 
the  immemorial  woods  that  covered  the 
German  Fatherland.  In  temples  built  by 
nature   herself   they  had  worshiped   their 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  103 

divinities.  By  the  trunk  of  some  lofty  pine 
they  had  erected  their  simple  altars,  and 
under  the  spreading  branches  they  had  im- 
molated their  rude  victims.  When,  there- 
fore, the  demand  arose  for  newer  and 
more  fitting  churches  in  the  Middle  Ages 
it  seemed  as  if,  after  seven  centuries,  the 
old  instincts  of  the  forest  stirred  in  their 
hearts.  From  the  beginning  of  time  the 
great  problem  of  architecture  has  been  the 
problem  of  the  roof.  How  to  cover  in 
large  spaces  has  taxed  the  ingenuity  of 
man.  The  Egyptians  attempted  its  solu- 
tion by  frequent  walls  and  closely  ranged 
columns  supporting  horizontal  slabs.  The 
Greeks  lightened  the  Egyptian  treatment, 
but  the  principle  was  the  same.  The  prac- 
tical genius  of  Rome  by  introducing  the 
arch  and  vault  solved  the  problem  with 
the  material  her  builders  had  at  hand. 
But  the  drawback  of  the  arch  and  vault  is 
that  they  never  sleep,  they  tend  to  sag  at 
the  top  and  to  bulge  at  the  sides.  To  over- 
come those  thrusts  the  Romans  supported 
the  arch  and  vault  by  immense  masses  of 
masonry,  which  indeed  gave  their  build- 
ings   a   solidity   that    defies    the    elements 


I04  Altar  and  Priest 

and  the  years,  but  at  the  same  time  pro- 
duces a  sense  of  immobility  that  seems  to 
weigh  the  human  spirit  down. 

It  was  on  this  static  mass  that  Prankish 
genius  laid  its  hand,  and  lo!  it  energized 
and  lived.  The  mediaeval  architects  went 
to  the  forest  for  their  inspiration,  and 
to  what  nobler  model  could  they  go? 
What  man  can  stand  on  some  Californian 
mountain  side,  amid  the  ancient  trees, 
and,  looking  far  over  valley  and  plain, 
and  not  cry  out  with  the  Psalmist:  ^^Lau- 
date  Dominum  de  terra,  montes  et 
omnes  colles,  ligna  fructifera  et  omnes 
cedri — Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  the  earth : 
ye  mountains  and  every  hill:  ye  fruitful 
trees  and  all  ye  cedars."  Let  it  be  in  the 
day  that  he  rests  in  the  welcome  shade 
and  watches  the  sunlight  stream  through 
the  interlacing  branches,  only  a  mean  soul 
will  refuse  to  bow  with  reverence  in  this 
solemn  temple  not  made  with  hands.  But 
far  more  at  night — and  alone.  The  sounds 
of  the  day  are  hushed,  and  the  thin  voice 
of  the  water-course  ascends  from  the  can- 
yon, as  if  one  played  a  simple  melody  on 
the  upper  record  of  the  organ.     The  tree 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  lo^ 

tops  sway  and  bend  noiselessly  under  the 
feet  of  the  angel  hosts  that  march  forth  to 
the  wars  of  God.  The  harvest  stars  sing 
together  their  Creator's  glory  as  they  come 
flaming  up  the  eastern  sky,  while  low  down 
in  the  west  the  young  moon  hangs  like  a 
silver  sanctuary  lamp  before  Him  who 
hath  set  His  tabernacle  in  the  sun. 

So  at  the  inspiration  of  the  Franks  the 
massive  Roman  walls  melted  away  and 
their  places  were  taken  by  the  fairy  tracery 
of  stained-glass  windows  that  glowed  with 
the  figures  of  many  an  olden  story  and  the 
arms  of  many  a  noble  house.  The  squat 
and  bulky  pillar  sprang  into  a  group  of 
slender  shafts  whose  heads  blossomed  into 
the  leaves  of  the  wood,  and  like  the  leaves 
of  the  wood  no  two  were  fashioned  alike. 
From  every  shaft  rose  the  groin-ribs,  no 
longer  in  artificial  and  equal  curve,  but 
like  the  branches  of  the  forest  trees  aspir- 
ing into  the  pointed  arch,  and  crossing  and 
recrossing  to  support  the  roof.  The  natu- 
ral thrust  of  the  arch  itself  reduced  by  its 
new  shape  was  met  by  external  buttresses 
as  graceful  as  living  things  and  by  a  multi- 
tude of  pinnacles  like  the  tree  tops  in  a 


lo6  Altar  and  Priest 

pine  wood  seen  from  a  hill.  The  bell- 
tower,  which  the  Irish  monks  had  intro- 
duced to  the  Continent,  was  incorporated 
in  the  plan  to  balance  the  span  that  held 
the  main  door  and  the  western  window  and 
grew  into  the  graceful  spire  which  lifted 
up  and  lightened  the  mass.  The  whole 
building  was  organic,  a  system  of  thrusts 
and  counter  thrusts,  balances  and  counter 
balances;  it  was  alive,  it  was  true.  Every 
detail  was  wrought  out  with  the  most 
scrupulous  finish,  and  as  the  leaf  on  the 
topmost  bough  that  will  never  be  seen  by 
human  eye  is  as  perfectly  fashioned  as 
those  on  the  branches  that  sweep  the 
ground,  so  in  those  Gothic  cathedrals 
every  carving  is  faithfully  executed,  not 
only  in  those  places  where  men  can  reach 
and  observe,  but  also  in  every  nook  and 
corner  that,  once  the  scaffolding  was  re- 
moved, could  only  be  seen  by  the  eye  of 
God. 

Inside  those  forests  frozen  into  marble 
all  centered  on  one  point.  They  were  not 
meeting  houses,  they  were  temples.  They 
were  not  built  for  preaching,  they  were 
built  for  sacrifice;    and  every  line  led  to 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  107 

the  stone  of  immolation  and  to  the  priest, 
clad  in  his  vestments,  who  did  his  office 
thereat,  and  to  the  moment  when  the 
voice  of  the  organ  dies  down,  and  the 
ministers  fall  away  from  the  celebrant, 
and  he  alone  stands  lifting  up  the  white 
Host  and  the  golden  chalice,  and  the  great 
bell  booms  over  the  believing  city,  and 
the  worshipers  bow  their  faces  to  the 
ground,  blessing  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
because  He  hath  once  more  visited  His 
people  and  wrought  their  redemption  in 
His  blood. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
in  this  new  land  we  can  reproduce  the 
glories  of  the  old.  It  took  seven  hundred 
years  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  cathe- 
drals of  Europe,  and  some  of  them  were 
nearly  as  long  more  in  building.  More- 
over, our  needs  are  different.  The  Mass, 
the  great  Christian  service,  is  made  up  of 
two  parts,  instruction  and  sacrifice.  In 
the  ages  of  faith  the  emphasis  naturally 
fell  on  the  sacrifice,  but  we,  like  the 
Christians  of  pagan  Rome,  are  living  in 
an  age  of  unfaith,  and  the  emphasis  has 
shifted  back  to  the  instruction.    The  needs 


io8  Altar  and  Priest 

of    the    pulpit    must    now    be    consulted 

in  church  building,  as  well  as  the  needs 

of  the  altar.     But  the  instinct  for  beauty 

remains   the   same,   and   the   people   wish 

not  only  to  have  a  roof  to  shelter  them, 

but  to  have  it  as  beautiful  as  their  means 

will    allow.      They    do    not    consider    the 

money  spent  on  this  adornment  as  waste. 

They    know    too    well    the    story    of    the 

woman  who  anointed  the  feet  of  the  Lord, 

so  that  the  sweet  odor  of  the  alabaster  box 

filled  the  house;    they  remember  too  well 

the  promise  that  the  world  should  never 

lack  the  sweet  odor  of  her  deed.     This  is 

the   alabaster  box  that  James   and   Mary 

Canning  gave  to  their  Lord.     They  have 

both  gone  forth  from  this  world  and  have 

looked  on  their  Master's  face  who,  during 

His  ministry,  had  not  whereon  to  lay  His 

head.      Sure   we    may   be    that    He    who 

promised  that  a  cup  of  cold  water  given 

in  His  name  shall  not  want  a  reward  has 

not  forgotten  those  who  in  their  generosity 

and  faith  reared  a   resting  place  for  the 

Sacrament   in   which   He   delights    to    be 

with  the  children  of  men. 

This  church  stands  here  as  a  testimony. 


The  Beauty  of  Holiness  109 

Oakland  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the 
great  marts  of  the  world  if  our  civilization 
abandoned  by  God  does  not  perish  from 
within.  All  around  shall  arise  the  lofty 
buildings  devoted  to  trade  and  industry, 
but  here  shall  be  an  oasis  in  the  desert 
where  the  weary  may  rest  for  a  moment  in 
the  unceasing  struggle;  a  well-spring  in 
the  wilderness  where  the  thirsty  may 
drink  of  the  waters  of  everlasting  life. 

A  distinguished  inventor  returning 
lately  from  abroad  is  reported  to  have 
said  he  was  glad  to  see  that  as  the 
great  commercial  buildings  grew  higher 
the  church  spires  grew  lower.  Alas,  how 
fatuous  and  futile  is  mere  materialism! 
The  lofty  towers  shall  crumble  into  dust, 
the  ships  of  Tarsus  shall  sail  away,  and 
his  own  name  shall  be  as  forgotten  as  the 
name  of  the  inventor  of  the  ploughshare, 
but  the  human  heart  shall  still  aspire  after 
God,  and  the  posts  of  the  gates  of  heaven 
shall  forever  rest  upon  the  earth. 

This  church  stands  here  as  the  center  of 
this  parish  and  its  people's  home.  In 
these  seats  you  shall  sit  Sunday  after  Sun- 
day,   and   you   shall   teach   your   children 


I  lo  Altar  and  Priest 

the  meaning  of  those  pictured  walls.  Here 
shall  you  receive  strength  to  carry  the  bur- 
dens of  life;  here  shall  you  receive  com- 
fort, as  you  face,  day  by  day,  the  weary 
ways  of  the  world.  And  at  last,  when  the 
aching  back  can  bear  no  more,  and  the 
faltering  feet  can  fare  no  farther,  you  will 
fold  your  hands  in  peace  and  lay  you  down 
to  sleep  before  this  altar.  Oh,  may  your 
dream  then  be  as  the  dream  of  the  Pa- 
triarch of  old — the  heavens  open  and  the 
angels  of  'God  descending  and  ascending  to 
whom  He  hath  given  charge  concerning 
you  that  in  their  hands  they  may  bear  you 
up!  Then  on  your  eyes  shall  dawn  the 
jasper  walls  and  the  golden  city.  Then 
shall  you  behold  the  innumerable  multi- 
tude that  have  washed  their  robes  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  Then  shall  you  recog- 
nize Mary,  Queen  of  Angels  and  Saints, 
for  she  stands  hard  by  the  mercy  seat 
whereon  sits  the  Judge  of  the  living  and 
the  dead.  And  then,  as  the  never-ending 
chant  of  cherubim  and  seraphim  begins  to 
thunder  upon  your  ears,  the  veil  is  rent  in 
twain,  and,  oh!  the  Vision  of  Uncreated 
Beauty,  the  Face  of  the  Living  God. 


THE  SECULAR  CONFLICT 


The  Rededicaiion  of  Si.  James*  Church,  San 
FrancUco,  Cal,  Palm  Sunday,  March  31,  1912. 


THE  SECULAR  CONFLICT 

The  solemn  services  of  Palm  Sunday 
help  in  more  ways  than  one  to  attune  our 
minds  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings  that 
should  accompany  the  reopening  of  this 
church  and  its  rededication  to  the  service 
of  God.  As  of  old  time,  the  people  bearing 
palms  and  singing  ^^Hosannas"  w^elcomed 
our  Lord  to  Sion,  so  you  this  morning,  bear- 
ing the  same  palms  and  singing  the  same 
^^Hosannas''  have  brought  the  same  Lord  to 
His  ow^n  house  and  lodged  Him  in  a  tab- 
ernacle that  He  may  dw^ell  in  the  midst 
of  you.  For  you  are  His  people  and  He 
is  your  God,  whose  name  is  Emmanuel 
and  whose  delight  is  to  be  with  the 
children  of  men. 

Then  with  that  sudden  change  that  char- 
acterizes the  Church's  liturgy,  as  in  a  spring 
morning  the  capricious  sky  swiftly  turns 
from  sunshine  to  rain,  and  from  cloud 
again  to  clear,  so  you  stood  with  palms  of 
victory  in  your  hands  and  listened  to  the 
long  story  of  the  conflict  between  life  and 


114  Altar  and  Priest 

death;  how  He  was  betrayed,  how  He 
was  mocked  and  scourged  and  spat  upon, 
how  He  was  nailed  to  the  tree,  how  He 
died  in  desolation.  You  saw  with  your 
mind's  eye  the  gathering  darkness,  you  saw 
the  side  pierced,  you  saw  the  rock-hewn 
tomb,  you  saw  the  great  stone  that  sealed 
His  sepulcher,  and  the  sad-faced  women 
that  watched  the  place  where  they  laid 
Him. 

Yet  as  you  listened  you  knew  that  this 
was  the  hour  of  His  victory.  He  had 
stormed  the  gates  of  death.  He  had  led 
captivity  captive.  He  had  planted  His 
trophies  in  the  very  citadel  of  hell. 
Already  the  dawn  of  Easter  is  bright  upon 
the  sky;  already  the  angels  are  speeding 
with  their  message,  ^^He  is  risen.  He  is 
not  here.  Why  seek  ye  the  living  among 
the  dead?" 

This  succession  of  joy  and  sorrow,  of 
sorrow  and  joy,  has  been  j^our  own  expe- 
rience in  the  short  history  of  your  parish. 
You  recall  to-day  the  pride  with  which 
you  first  dedicated  this  church,  the  splen- 
did monument  of  your  generosity  and  of 
your  pastor's  indefatigable  zeal.     You  re- 


The  Secular  Conflict  115 

member   that   ill-omened   week  when   the 

sea  of  fire  broke  against  yonder  hill  and 

threatened    to    engulf    your    church    and 

your  homes  together.     You  feel  again  the 

relief  and  thankfulness  that  possessed  your 

souls     when     it     paused     almost     at     the 

threshold    and    turned    and    slowly   ebbed 

away.    Once  more  sorrow  filled  your  heart 

when  the  disappointed  element  took,  as  it 

were,  a  late  revenge  and  left  you  without 

a  roof  under  which  to  worship.     But  you 

were  not  cast  down.     With  the  chivalry 

that  legend  has  associated  with  the  name 

of   St.  James,  you   sprang  to   the   rescue; 

nobly  you  have   supported   the   hands   of 

your  devoted  pastor,  who  has  renewed  his 

youth  in  surpassing  the  achievements  of  his 

youth,  and  has  given  you  in  this  restored 

edifice   a  statelier  and  more  commodious 

building  than   even   the  beautiful   church 

you  lost  this  day  last  year. 

But  your  experience  is  not  unique.  It 
is  the  experience  of  the  Church  all  over 
the  world  to-day;  it  has  been  the  expe- 
rience of  the  Church  in  every  age  since 
her  career  began.  I  do  not  speak  now  of 
the  material  buildings  which  house  the  con- 


Il6  Altar  and  Priest 

gregations.  It  is  true  that  the  trained  eye 
can  distinguish  in  the  walls  of  the  old  ca- 
thedrals and  churches  of  Europe  the  vari- 
ous vicissitudes  of  the  times — the  ruin  and 
the  restoration — and  can  read  the  history 
of  past  days  in  the  masonry  and  carving, 
in  the  pillar  and  arch,  in  the  window  and 
roof.  But  I  speak  of  the  Church  now  in 
a  wider  sense.  I  speak  of  that  great  society 
that  has  existed  in  every  age  since  the 
Apostles,  and  exists  to-day  in  every  country 
on  the  habitable  globe.  I  speak  of  her 
long  career  and  her  present  condition,  and 
I  say  that  to  the  student  of  history  the  re- 
cuperative power  she  now  displays,  and 
has  always  displayed,  is  one  of  the  surest 
evidences  of  her  divinity.  She  is  the  mys- 
tical body  of  Christ,  and  in  her  is  worked 
the  ever-enduring  miracle:  ^^Destroy  this 
temple,  and  in  three  days  will  I  rebuild  it." 
This  is  the  promise  of  her  Founder. 
When  He  pictured  her  to  His  disciples  He 
set  her  as  a  city  upon  the  rock  beleaguered 
by  the  gates  of  hell.  The  sentinels  that 
walk  her  walls  look  out  upon  ^^a  world  of 
conflict  and  of  vicissitude  amid  the  con- 
flict."   As  Newman  finely  continues: 


The  Secular  Conflict  117 

^^The  Church  is  ever  militant;  some- 
times she  gains,  sometimes  she  loses;  and 
more  often  she  is  at  once  gaining  and  los- 
ing in  different  parts  of  her  territory. 
What  is  ecclesiastical  history  but  a  record 
of  the  ever  doubtful  fortune  of  the  battle, 
though  its  issue  is  not  doubtful.  Scarcely 
are  we  singing  Te  Deum  when  we  have  to 
turn  to  Misereres;  scarcely  are  we  in 
peace,  when  we  are  in  persecution; 
scarcely  have  we  gained  a  triumph  when 
we  are  visited  by  a  scandal.  Nay,  we 
make  progress  by  means  of  reverses;  our 
griefs  are  our  consolations;  we  lost  Ste- 
phen to  gain  Paul,  and  Matthias  replaces 
the  traitor  Judas." 

It  demands  no  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  affairs  of  the  world  to-day  to 
realize  how  applicable  is  this  description 
to  the  happenings  of  our  own  time.  A 
cursory  reading  of  the  newspapers  will 
supply  us  with  sufficient  details  to  fill  in 
the  picture.  On  the  one  hand  we  see  in 
Portugal  an  ancient  Church  despoiled  and 
enslaved.  Once  its  children  carried  the 
cross  to  the  ends  of  the  earth;  now  its 
bishops  are  banished,  its  priests  slain  or 
imprisoned,  and  a  small  band  of  political 


1 1 8  Altar  and  Priest 

fanatics  are  boasting  that  they  will  drive 
the  very  name  of  Christ  from  that  Chris- 
tian country.  On  the  other  hand  we  cast 
our  eyes  across  the  Atlantic  and  we  behold 
in  a  great  republic,  peopled  by  men  of 
the  same  race  and  speaking  the  same  lan- 
guage, how  liberty  has  been  restored  to  the 
Church,  how  the  apathy  of  past  years  has 
been  cast  off,  and  the  wonderful  progress 
of  religion  in  Brazil  more  than  makes  com- 
pensation for  the  disasters  of  the  mother 
country. 

Who  can  speak  without  tears  of  the 
Eldest  Daughter  of  the  Church  —  the 
France  of  St.  Louis  and  of  Joan  of  Arc? 
Only  the  lamentations  of  the  prophet  over 
the  departed  glories  of  Jerusalem  can  de- 
scribe how  the  fine  gold  has  become  dim 
and  the  stones  of  the  sanctuary  are  scattered 
at  the  head  of  every  street.  There  again 
we  behold  the  strange  phenomenon  of  a 
handful  of  sectaries  ruling  a  nation  that  is 
overwhelmingly  Catholic  —  not  in  name 
only,  but  in  works,  for  France  still  leads 
the  world  in  her  contributions  of  men  and 
money  to  the  propagation  of  the  Catholic 
faith.     Yet  even  in  France  the  outlook  is 


The  Secular  Conflict  119 

perceptibly  brighter.  We  deplore  indeed 
the  dispersion  of  her  religious,  the  confis- 
cation of  the  patrimony  of  the  poor,  the 
completion  of  the  pillage  of  Church 
property  begun  by  the  first  revolution; 
but  these  are  more  than  met  by  the  new- 
spirit  that  is  growing  among  the  peo- 
ple, by  the  splendid  discipline  of  the 
clergy  and  by  the  loyalty  shown  by  the 
bishops  towards  the  See  of  St.  Peter.  In 
the  days  of  her  prosperity  the  Eldest 
Daughter  of  the  Church  more  than  once 
presumed  on  her  primogeniture.  Gallican- 
ism,  as  it  was  called,  was  a  spirit  of  jealousy 
of  Rome  and  a  restiveness  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Holy  See.  It  was  on  this 
spirit  the  French  politicians  presumed 
when  they  attempted  to  erect  a  schismatical 
religious  association  and  endow  it  with  the 
property  of  the  Church.  Naturally  when 
the  government  proposals  were  first  an- 
nounced there  was  much  discussion  and 
difference  of  opinion  among  the  clergy, 
as  there  must  be  among  all  men  who  face 
new  and  untried  conditions.  But  the  min- 
ute Rome  spoke  all  discussion  ceased.  The 
church  of  France  realized  that  she  was  on 


I20  Altar  and  Priest 

the  field  of  battle  and  that  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy  no  voice  has  a  right  to  be  raised 
but  the  voice  of  the  commander-in-chief. 
With  a  unity  that  astounded  their  enemies 
at  home,  with  a  devotion  that  moved  the 
world  to  admiration,  with  a  courage  that 
made  every  Catholic  heart  beat  faster — at 
the  word  of  Pius  they  marched  forth  to 
the  conflict — and  who  will  be  so  bold  as 
to  say  when  the  smoke  of  battle  lifts  from 
the  field  the  Children  of  the  Crusaders 
shall  have  gone  down  before  the  motley 
mob  that  follows  the  banner  of  Voltaire? 
It  is  the  law  of  the  Church  that  at  stated 
periods  every  bishop  in  the  world  must 
visit  Rome  and  report  to  the  Pope  on  the 
condition  of  his  diocese.  One  year  is  set 
for  the  bishops  of  one  country,  and  another 
year  for  the  bishops  of  another.  Thus 
there  is  a  constant  procession  of  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  Church  over  the  threshold  of 
the  Apostles,  as  messengers  hastening  from 
the  field  of  battle  bearing  tidings  to  their 
chief  of  the  fortunes  of  the  war.  And  as 
that  lonely  prisoner  in  his  own  palace  sits 
clad  all  in  white  by  the  tomb  of  the  Fisher- 
man and  listens  to  their  varied  messages, 


The  Secular  Conflict  121 

what  a  world  panorama  must  he  gaze  on — 
what  ever-changing  pictures  of  hope  and 
fear,  of  joy  and  sorrow,  of  victory  and  de- 
feat. Here,  with  ashes  on  their  heads  and 
garments  reeking  with  the  odor  of  the 
prison,  come  the  envoys  of  Russia  with 
their  sad  story,  even  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury, of  Cossack  brutality,  of  the  knout  and 
the  exile  and  the  heavy  chains.  To  them 
succeeds  some  maimed  and  scarred  veteran 
of  the  Far  East  to  tell  the  old  tale  how 
a  new  Chinese  riot  has  proved  for  the 
thousandth  time  the  old  story  that  the  gen- 
eration of  Good  Shepherds  is  ever  renewed 
in  the  Church  who  know  how  to  lay  down 
their  lives  for  their  sheep.  From  Spain 
come  disquieting  rumors  of  war;  from 
Italy  itself,  more  cunning  and  oppressive 
measures  against  religion,  from  the  very 
purlieus  of  the  palace  the  sneers  of  the 
Roman  politician  and  the  hoarse  roar  of  the 
Roman  mob ;  and  lest  any  bitterness  should 
be  wanting  to  his  chalice  there  run  along 
the  walls  the  stealthy  whisperings  of  the 
traitors  within  the  gates. 

But  there  is  another  footstep  upon  the 
threshold,   and  already  another  spirit    in 


1 22  Altar  and  Priest 

the  air.  Who  are  they  that  come  robed 
indeed  in  the  ancient  Roman  purple,  but 
with  the  wine  of  youth  in  their  veins? 
From  far  beyond  the  seas,  from  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  they  hasten — the 
bearers  of  tidings  of  great  joy.  From  Can- 
ada, from  the  Cape,  from  Australia,  from 
our  own  United  States,  they  bring  conso- 
lation to  the  Father  of  Christendom  in  his 
bitter  hour.  They  tell  of  new  nations  that 
build  in  new  lands  innumerable  altars  to  the 
God  that  has  gladdened  their  youth.  They 
tell  of  the  wise  work  of  the  pioneers,  the 
noble  generosity  of  the  faithful,  the  good 
report  with  those  that  are  without.  Dio- 
ceses are  erected,  parishes  formed,  churches 
built,  schools  founded,  all  the  works  of 
mercy  multipled.  The  Holy  Mass  is  at- 
tended, the  Sacraments  are  frequented,,  the 
young  are  instructed,  the  sick  visited,  and 
the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them. 
Statistics  are  unreliable,  and  numbers  vain, 
but  what  can  equal  the  eloquence  of  this 
one  fact  that  in  the  United  States  alone  in 
the  course  of  four  generations  the  number 
of  Sisters  devoted  to  charity  and  education 
has  so  grown   that  now  it  is   double  the 


The  Secular  Conflict  123 

total  Catholic  population  at  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence? 

From  the  North  come  the  occupants  of 
many  a  historic  See  to  tell  of  the  progress 
of  the  Second  Spring.  No  need  to  speak 
of  that  fortress  of  the  faith,  Ireland,  that 
for  three  hundred  years  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  battle  when  Northern  Europe  re- 
volted from  the  Church.  But  in  Britain 
itself  the  long  winter  is  over  and  gone. 
In  Holland,  in  Denmark,  in  Scandinavia, 
there  is  the  same  story  of  the  breaking 
down  of  prejudice,  and  of  the  progress  of 
religion.  On  what  more  inspiring  spec- 
tacle could  the  Father  of  Christendom  gaze 
than  on  the  long  battle  line  that  lies  between 
Imperial  Austria  and  brave  Belgium, 
where  the  serried  millions  of  the  Father- 
land, victorious  over  blood  and  iron,  now 
face  a  fiercer  enemy,  and  with  German 
faith  and  German  patriotism  stand  as  the 
defenders  of  Church,  of  country  and  of 
home? 

What  is  true  of  the  Church  to-day  has 
been  true  of  the  Church  in  every  age. 
Our  Lord  forewarned  His  disciples  that 
as  He  had  been  persecuted,  so  should  they. 


124  Altar  and  Priest 

The  world  would  ever  war  against  them, 
but  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail. 
^Tear  not,  for  I  have  overcome  the  world." 
Hardly  had  the  young  church  received  its 
organization,  when  the  synagogue,  first^ 
and  then  the  great  Roman  empire  strove 
to  destroy  it.  For  nearly  three  hundred 
years  the  combat  raged,  and  it  was  not  till 
312 — sixteen  hundred  years  next  October 
— that  Constantine  broke  the  power  of  the 
persecutors  at  the  battle  of  the  Milvian 
bridge  and  the  name  of  Christ  was  in- 
scribed upon  the  standard  of  the  republic. 
But  the  triumph  was  scarcely  gained 
when  the  great  heresies  vexed  her  in  the 
East,  and  the  barbarians  ravaged  the  fair- 
est provinces  of  the  West.  She  lost  the 
East — first  to  schism,  and  then  to  the  Mos- 
lem. There  was  a  time  when  it  seemed  as 
if  she  were  also  to  lose  the  West  to  the 
same  foe.  The  robber  barons  of  Italy  had 
defiled  the  chair  of  Peter,  the  Saracens  had 
plundered  his  very  tomb,  Spain  groaned 
beneath  the  Arabs,  and  only  the  valor  of 
the  Franks  saved  western  civilization. 
But  little  by  little  she  reconquered  the 
West,    and    her   missionaries    carried    the 


The  Secular  Conflict  125 

faith  where  the  Roman  legions  had  never 
penetrated.  Instead  of  Egypt  she  gained 
Ireland,  instead  of  Carthage  she  won  back 
Gaul,  instead  of  Syria  she  received  Ger- 
many; Britain  made  up  for  the  loss  of 
Asia,  and  Poland  and  Scandinavia  compen- 
sated for  the  defection  of  Constantinople. 

But  her  triumphs  bore  her  only  new 
sorrows.  When  she  had  established  or- 
thodoxy and  converted  the  barbarians,  the 
children  of  her  own  schools  began  to  make 
shipwreck  of  the  faith,  and  the  princes 
and  kings  nurtured  in  her  bosom  coveted 
her  possessions.  The  long  struggle  with 
simony  and  the  vagrant  thought  of  the 
Middle  Ages  was  not  yet  ended  when 
whole  nations  were  torn  from  her  in  the 
Protestant  revolution.  Yet  at  that  very 
moment  the  gates  of  the  East  and  of  the 
West  were  thrown  open,  and  her  mission- 
aries in  America  and  the  Orient  gave  her 
back  more  children  than  she  had  lost  in 
Europe,  and  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled 
that  many  should  come  from  the  East  and 
the  West  and  sit  down  with  Abraham  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


126  Altar  and  Priest 

but  the  children  of  the  kingdom  should  be 
cast  out. 

What  more  marvelous  example  of  the 
recuperative  power  of  the  Church  can  be 
found  than  the  history  of  Ireland?  In 
no  part  of  the  world,  in  no  persecution  of 
which  we  have  any  record,  were  measures 
so  skillfully  devised,  so  long  sustained,  so 
mercilessly  executed  for  crushing  the 
Catholic  religion  as  in  that  island.  So  low 
was  the  estate  to  which  the  Catholics  were 
reduced  that  a  judge  could  declare  from 
the  bench  that  the  law  did  not  presume 
that  any  Catholic  drew  a  breath  of  Irish 
air.  And  yet  do  you  ever  realize  that  we 
have  not  yet  celebrated  the  centenary  of 
Catholic  emancipation?  In  less  than  a 
century  they  have  fought  their  way  to  a 
victory  that  has  no  parallel  in  history. 
They  have  raised  the  desecrated  altar,  they 
have  rebuilt  the  ruined  fane,  colleges  and 
schools  cover  the  land,  their  cloisters  are 
peopled  with  holy  men  and  women,  and 
that  not  only  at  home,  but  on  every  shore 
of  the  seven  seas.  They  are  the  church  of 
Australia  and  New  Zealand;  they  are  the 
major  part  of  the  church  of  the  United 


The  Secular  Conflict  127 

States;  they  share  equally  the  glories  of 
the  church  of  Canada,  and  they  may  well 
ask  with  the  Trojan  prince: 

"Quae    regio    in    terris    nostri    non    plena 

laboris?" 
*What  land  on  earth  is  not  filled  with  our 

toil?'' 

But  we  have  here  in  California  a  mem- 
orable example  of  recuperation,  though  of 
a  different  kind.  A  hundred  years  ago 
this  state  presented  the  last  example  of  that 
wonderful  Mission  system,  devised  after 
the  discovery  of  America,  by  the  wisest 
minds  of  Rome  and  Spain  to  preserve  the 
natural  rights  of  the  Indians,  to  chris- 
tianize them  and  to  indoctrinate  them  with 
the  arts  that  make  for  civilization.  In  no 
part  of  the  world  did  the  missioners  have 
poorer  material  to  deal  with,  and  in  no 
part  of  the  world  did  they  meet  with 
greater  success.  The  traveler  from  San 
Francisco  to  San  Diego  would  pass  Mis- 
sion after  Mission  surrounded  by  culti- 
vated fields,  whose  cattle  ranged  a  hundred 
hills,  whose  barns  were  bursting  with 
plenty,    whose    converts    dwelt    in    peace 


128  Altar  and>  Priest 

within  sound  of  the  Church  bells.  In  half 
a  century  the  Franciscan  friars  had  created 
a  Christian  community  that  in  time  prom- 
ised to  develop  into  a  great  Christian  com- 
monwealth. But  the  fates  forbade.  The 
science  of  the  missioners  and  the  labor  of 
the  Indians  had  created  wealth,  and  the 
greedy  politicians  of  the  time  coveted,  and 
stole.  They  did  not  know  that  wealth  of 
that  kind  is  produced  only  by  the  self- 
sacrifice  that  religion  inspires,  and  that 
once  the  religious  motive  was  destroyed 
the  wealth  would  turn  into  withered  leaves 
like  the  fairy  gold  of  the  Irish  tales. 
Thirty  years  later  the  work  of  seculariza- 
tion was  completed  and  in  the  short  space 
of  one  generation  the  Mission  system  dis- 
appeared. The  Indians  vanished,  the  friars 
died  out,  the  great  barns  were  empty,  the 
fields  untilled,  the  Missions  themselves 
crumbling  to  the  dust.  The  girdle  that 
shielded  the  heathen  land  was  broken,  and 
looking  on  these  white  ruins  the  question 
put  to  the  prophet  came  naturally  to  the 
mind:  ^^Son  of  man,  thinkest  thou  can 
these  dry  bones  live?" 

In   answer  look  over  the  scene  to-day. 


The  Secular  Conflict  129 

Not  only  are  the  old  Missions  filled  with 
worshipers,  but  the  sons  of  the  men  who 
denounced  the  system  and  helped  to  de- 
stroy it  are  foremost  now  to  preserve  them 
as  monuments  of  the  noblest  period  of 
California  history.  Indeed  we  need  look 
no  farther  than  the  Mission  district  of 
San  Francisco.  The  cloisters  are  gone, 
the  orchard  long  since  disappeared,  only 
the  church  remains,  guarded  by  its  dead; 
but  all  around  rise  the  spires  of  its  daugh- 
ter churches — as  in  our  forests  where 
a  great  redwood  has  decayed  or  been  cut 
down  a  circle  of  young  trees  spring  up 
which  often  surpass  the  parent  from  whose 
roots  they  rise.  A  hundred  years  ago  the 
thin  tones  of  the  Mission  bells  summoned 
a  few  hundred  converts  to  the  blessing  of 
the  palms.  From  forty  steeples  to-day  on 
this  peninsula  rang  out  the  call  to  two  hun- 
dred thousand  worshipers  to  go  forth  to 
welcome  Christ  their  king. 

And  what  is  the  secret  of  this  wonderful 
recuperative  power  of  the  Church?  Every- 
thing in  nature  begins,  develops  and  comes 
to  an  end.  Man  is  born,  grows  to  maturity 
and  passes  away.     The  tree  springs  from 


130  Altar  and  Priest 

the  seed,  and  no  matter  how  stoutly  it  may- 
stand  or  how  high  it  may  raise  its  head,  its 
days  are  numbered.  The  very  earth  itself 
and  the  flaming  battlements  of  the  world 
were  raised  in  time  and  are  hastening  to 
their  decay.  There  is  only  one  thing  that 
stands  forever,  and  that  is  God. 

*Thou  in  the  beginning,  O  Lord,  didst 
found  the  earth;  and  the  works  of  Thy 
hands  are  the  heavens.  They  shall  perish 
but  Thou  shalt  continue;  and  they  shall 
all  grow  old,  as  a  garment,  and  as  a  ves- 
ture shalt  Thou  change  them  and  they  shall 
be  changed;  but  Thou  art  the  self  same 
and  Thy  years  shall  not  fail." 

When,  therefore,  we  find  among  men  an 
institution  that  is  dowered  with  the  eternal 
years,  that  naturally,  so  to  speak,  renews  the 
ravages  of  time ;  that  is  independent  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  men  and  nations;  that  is 
killed  and  yet  lives;  that  is  buried  yet 
walks  abroad;  that  is  cast  out  yet  returns 
to  win  the  children  of  the  persecutors, 
what  can  we  think  of  except  of  that  divine 
Society  which  we  know  that  Jesus  Christ 
established    and    to   which    He    gave    the 


The  Secular  Conflict  131 

promise:    ^^Behold  I  am  with  you  all  days, 
even  to  the  consummation  of  the  world?" 

And  this  is  the  more  evident  when  we 
consider  the  fate  of  the  religious  systems 
that  challenged  her  place.  Arianism  once 
sat  in  the  seats  of  the  mighty;  it  had 
captured  the  new  fresh  races  that  were 
repeopling  the  empire;  it  had  won  over  or 
conquered  the  episcopate,  so  that  there  was 
some  foundation  for  St.  Jerome's  exaggera- 
tion that  all  the  world  groaned  to  find  it- 
self Arian.  Yet  where  is  Arianism  to-day? 
It  melted  away  like  snow  before  the 
summer  sun,  and  left  not  a  trace  to  show  its 
former  greatness.  The  heresy  of  Nestorius 
not  only  grew  to  power  within  the  bound- 
ary of  Rome,  but  spread  eastward  through 
Asia,  making  converts  even  in  China,  if  it 
did  not  pass  over  the  Pacific  and  lend  to 
Mexico,  as  it  did  to  Buddhism,  those  rites 
that  seem  to  mimic  the  worship  of  the 
Church;  yet  Nestorianism  to-day  is  repre- 
sented by  a  few  communities  stranded,  as  it 
were,  on  the  shores  of  progress.  Take  even 
the  great  religious  revolution  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  If  ever  there  was  a  country 
where  it  should  flourish  it  was  here.     It 


132  Altar  and  Priest 

called  for  liberty,  and  it  got  it.  It  called 
for  education,  and  it  received  it  without 
stint.  It  called  for  money,  and  it  was 
poured  out  like  water.  It  called  for  men, 
and  for  generations  the  nation  gave  its  best 
and  brainiest  to  the  pulpit.  It  had  no  com- 
petitor. The  native  Catholics  were  a  feeble 
folk  and  few;  the  immigrants  were  poor 
and  despised  and  too  often  rendered  illit- 
erate by  persecution.  Yet  in  spite  of  all 
these  advantages  Protestantism,  as  the  fa- 
thers understood  it,  is  dead  in  America,  and 
the  belief  that  took  its  place  is  rapidly  dis- 
integrating. Liberty  has  degenerated  into 
license.  Education  has  dissolved  the  Bible 
and  it  is  no  longer  the  very  word  of  God, 
but  a  collection  of  the  legends  of  a  small 
and  by  no  means  moral  Asiatic  tribe.  What 
even  Protestant  ministers  believe  now 
would  be  hard  to  define;  and  if  such  things 
be  done  in  the  teachers,  what  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  taught?  A  few  months  ago  a 
revivalist  called  upon  the  people  of  San 
Francisco  to  come  to  Christ.  I  wonder 
what  Christ  meant  to  the  ministers  that 
were  conducting  the  services  and  sat  about 
him  on  the  platform?     One  of  them  is  a 


The  Secular  Conflict  133 

modernist,  who  believes  in  a  young  Jewish 
enthusiast  who  dreamed  himself  into  a  mis- 
sion and  whose  followers  deluded  them- 
selves into  the  idea  that  he  rose  from  the 
dead.  Another  holds  the  less  recent 
opinion  that  he  was  a  creature  whom  God 
filled  with  His  Spirit  and  sent  to  do  His 
work.  Another  confesses  that  He  is  the 
Son  of  God.  To  which  of  these  Christs 
did  the  revivalist  ask  the  people  to  come? 
O  sheep,  without  a  shepherd,  scattered  on 
every  hill ! 

But  as  the  great  oak  that  dominates  the 
forest  is  the  same  as  the  sapling  that  centu- 
ries ago  pushed  its  slender  head  above  the 
underbrush  and  lives  with  the  same  life 
that  stirred  in  the  acorn,  so  the  Catholic 
Church  to-day  is  the  same  as  the  humble 
community  that  met  in  the  upper  room,  and 
the  same  baptism  of  fire  is  still  her  vital 
force.  The  ancient  oak  bears  many  a  scar; 
steel  has  wounded  it,  fire  has  burned  it,  the 
storms  have  twisted  it,  and  branch  after 
branch  has  been  rent  from  it  and  hurled  to 
the  ground;  but  still  every  year  the  sap 
stirs  beneath  its  bark,  and  the  buds  swell 
and  the  leaves  unfold  and  the  acorns  grow 


134  Altar  and  Priest 

and  all  the  birds  of  the  air  find  shelter  in 
its  boughs.  So  with  the  Catholic  Church. 
For  two  thousand  years  she  has  endured 
all  that  time  and  change  and  the  malice 
of  men  could  inflict  upon  her,  but  she 
stands  to-day  as  vigorous,  as  firm,  as  ma- 
jestic as  in  any  age,  and  all  the  children  of 
Adam  find  refreshment  in  her  shade. 


COUNTRY  LIFE 


The  Dedication  of  St.  Isidores  Churchy 
Danville,   Cal,  Sunda\f,  Jul\f  28,    1912. 


COUNTRY  LIFE 

The  establishment  of  a  new  parish  in  this 
beautiful  valley  was  the  result  of  your 
earnest  petitions  to  the  head  of  the  diocese, 
and  to-day  it  must  be  a  source  of  satisfac- 
tion to  you  and  to  your  pastor  to  welcome 
him  to  the  dedication  of  this  edifice  which 
your  faith  and  generosity  have  built  for  the 
service  of  God.  I  will  not  intrude  on  the 
words  of  congratulation  and  encouragement 
which  it  is  his  right  to  offer,  but  I  will 
merely  express  the  joy  that  every  priest, 
that  every  sincere  Catholic  must  experience 
who  sees  our  Holy  Mother  the  Church 
fulfill  the  words  of  the  prophet  as  she  en- 
larges the  place  of  her  habitation  and 
stretches  forth  the  curtains  of  her  taber- 
nacle, lengthening  her  cords  and  strength- 
ening her  stakes,  as  her  children  pass  to  the 
right  hand  and  to  the  left  to  inherit  the 
Gentiles  and  inhabit  the  desolate  places. 


It  seems  to  me  that  in  the  conditions  that 
obtain   in   America   in   general   and   Cali- 


138  Altar  and  Priest 

fornia  in  particular  the  building  of  a 
church  in  a  country  district  means  more 
for  the  future  of  religion  than  the  erection 
even  of  a  cathedral  in  a  great  metropolis. 
It  is  indeed  true  that  the  Catholic  Church 
is  organized,  so  to  speak,  on  the  city.  The 
Vicar  of  Christ  has  his  See  in  what  was 
once  the  capital  of  the  world.  The  bish- 
oprics do  not  take  their  titles  from  states 
or  provinces,  but  from  the  city  in  which 
the  bishop  establishes  his  chair  of  teach- 
ing. Still,  in  the  nature  of  things  the  roots 
of  the  city  are  in  the  country,  and,  if  it 
be  not  well  with  the  roots,  how  shall  the 
tree  prosper? 

Those  who  have  never  lived  in  the  coun- 
try are  accustomed  to  grow  enthusiastic 
over  the  advantages  of  dwelling  close  to  na- 
ture. Two  thousand  years  ago  the  Roman 
poet  satirized  the  praise  the  learned  Roman 
lawyer  lavishes  on  the  farmer's  life:  ^^Agric- 
olam  laudat  juris  legumque  peritus."  To- 
day it  is  not  from  the  young  people  raised 
on  the  ranches  that  we  hear  the  cry  of 
**Back  to  the  land."  That  cry  may  be  even 
necessary  for  the  common  weal,  and  there 
may  be  no  occupation  so  natural,  so  health- 


Country  Life  139 

ful,  so  independent;  but  those  who  are  to 
the  manner  born  know  that  it  is  an  occupa- 
tion of  long  hours,  of  steady  labor  and  of 
frequent  anxieties.  Especially  as  the  coun- 
try is  settled  and  the  great  ranches  are 
broken  up  and  cultivation  becomes  more 
intensive  and  diversified,  so  does  the  farm- 
er's work  grow  heavier  and  more  absorb- 
ing. Hence  it  is,  that,  contrary  to  what  so 
many  believe,  life  in  the  country  does  not 
naturally  make  for  a  broadening  of  the 
mind  and  an  elevation  of  the  character. 
Even  in  so  beautiful  a  land  as  California, 
where  the  mountains  ever  seem  to  call  to 
men  to  lift  up  their  hearts,  the  strange 
attraction  of  mother  earth  ties  them  to  the 
soil. 

The  fact  is  that  man  sees  in  nature  only 
what  he  brings  to  it.  Our  Lord  re- 
proached the  people  of  His  time  because 
they  had  eyes  to  see  and  did  not  see.  He 
whose  intellect  has  been  trained  and  whose 
imagination  has  been  cultivated 

^Tinds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  run- 
ning brooks. 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 


140  Altar  and  Priest 

No  matter  how  small  or  common  the 
aspect  may  be,  the  poet's  fancy  dignifies  it. 

^^Nature  for  all  conditions  wants  not  power 
To  consecrate  (if  we  have  eyes  to  see) 
The  outside  of  her  creatures  and  to  breathe 
Grandeur  upon  the  very  humblest  face  of 
human  life." 

On  the  contrary,  if  a  man's  eyes  are 
holden  and  his  spirit  dark 

^^The  primrose  by  the  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  is  to  him, 
And  nothing  more." 

For  this  reason  we  need  not  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  ancient  history,  as  well  as 
modern  experience,  teaches  us  that  unless 
there  is  some  counteracting  influence  coun- 
try life  leads  of  its  own  weight  to  the  lower 
rather  than  to  the  higher  things.  The 
steady  round  of  labor,  the  constant  solici- 
tude for  material  aims,  tend  of  themselves 
to  narrow  the  horizon  and  to  dull  the  in- 
terest. Especially  in  matters  of  religion  the 
drift  is  toward  a  contented  and  stolid  indif- 
ference. The  very  name  we  give  those  who 
reject  the  teachings  of  Christianity  is  a  tes- 
timony that  from  the  beginning  it  was  so. 


Country  Life  14. 1 

We  call  them  pagans — that  is  to  say,  the 
people  of  the  ^^pagus/'  or  countryside;  we 
call  them  heathen — that  is,  the  dwellers 
on  the  wild  moorland  or  the  heath.  In  the 
Roman  empire,  and  later  still,  it  was  those 
classes  that  were  the  last  to  give  up  their 
debasing  superstitions  and  yield  to  the  up- 
lifting influence  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
And  as  human  nature  does  not  change  in 
the  course  of  ages,  we  find  the  same  forces 
producing  the  same  results  in  our  own  day 
and  in  Christian  America.  From  all  over 
the  land  rises  the  complaint  of  the  aban- 
doned church  in  the  rural  districts.  Some- 
times the  church  is  closed  because  the 
congregation  cannot  raise  enough  money  to 
pay  the  preacher's  salary,  but  more  often 
it  is  because  there  is  no  congregation  to  be 
preached  to.  This  condition  of  affairs  is 
becoming  so  serious  that  the  larger  Protes- 
tant denominations  have  appointed  special 
committees  to  deal  with  the  problem. 
Many  proposals  have  been  made:  some  to 
amalgamate  the  numerous  small  sectarian 
churches  now  seen  in  so  many  villages  into 
one  strong  organization,  others  to  pay  good 
salaries  to  able  men  who  will  be  content  to 


142  Altar  and  Priest 

devote  themselves  to  the  regeneration  of  the 
countryside.  But  there  appears  to  be  no 
attempt  to  reach  the  real  remedy,  namely, 
to  give  the  people  a  religion  that  is  vigorous 
enough  to  meet  and  overcome  the  down- 
thrust  of  nature. 

In  California  this  condition  of  aflfairs  is 
more  evident  than  in  the  Eastern  States.  I 
do  not  exaggerate  when  I  say  that  in  our 
own  villages  the  Protestant  churches  have 
lost  their  hold  on  the  Protestant  population. 
Tht  women  to  some  measure  still  seek  in 
church  activities  the  gratification  of  the 
need  of  social  intercourse,  but  the  men  seem 
to  find  every  instinct  satisfied  in  the  cere- 
monies of  their  lodge-rooms.  The  seed  has 
fallen  among  the  thorns  and  has  been 
choked  by  the  cares  and  the  riches  and  the 
pleasures  of  this  world. 

The  result  I  do  not  dare  to  put  in  my 
own  words.  Those  who  are  best  acquainted 
with  California's  conditions  are  not  slow  to 
say  that  with  all  our  advantages,  all  our 
schools,  all  our  wealth,  the  rural  laborer 
is  being  surely  brutalized.  There  is  a 
picture  known  as  ^^The  Angelus,"  repro- 
ductions of  which  everyone  has  seen.     It 


Country  Life  l^j 

represents  an  Old  World  landscape  at  set 
of  sun.  In  the  distance  is  the  spire  of  the 
village  church;  in  the  foreground  are 
two  peasants,  a  man  and  a  woman.  The 
man  stands  beside  his  hoe,  and  both  are 
praying  with  bowed  heads  in  the  midst 
of  their  interrupted  toil,  as  the  sound  of  the 
Angelus  bell  spreads  like  a  benediction  over 
the  land.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  pic- 
ture? We  who  are  of  the  same  faith  as 
those  peasants  know  that  they  are  rever- 
ently repeating  the  annunciation  of  that 
marvelous  mystery  that  has  changed  the 
history  of  the  world.  Uncouth  and  toil- 
worn  though  they  be,  they  are  standing 
among  the  shining  seraphim  who  adore 
the  Word  Made  Flesh.  Over  the  mountain 
peaks  of  the  ages  their  swift  feet  have  fled 
and  they  abide  in  the  Judean  field  with 
the  midnight  shepherds  who  saw  the 
heavens  open  and  were  wrapt  in  the  glory 
of  God.  They  are  kith  and  kin  of  their 
own  village  maid  who  beheld  in  the  oak 
tree  of  Domremy  the  armor  of  the  Arch- 
angel and  went  forth  at  his  command  to 
deliver  her  beloved  fatherland  and  crown 
the  rightful  king. 


144  Altar  and  Priest 

But  what  is  the  meaning  of  that  picture 
to  one  who  interprets  it  by  Californian  con- 
ditions and  the  actual  state  of  the  rural 
laborer  as  he  exists  in  this  imperial  com- 
monwealth? The  answer  was  written  not 
so  long  ago  under  the  walls  of  our  state 
university,  in  the  noontide  glory  of  our 
public  schools,  in  the  freest  and  most  pros- 
perous country  upon  earth.  Listen  to  the 
Californian  description  of  ^^The  Man  With 
the  Hoe:" 

"Bowed   by   the  weight   of   centuries,   he 

leans 
Upon  his  hoe  and  gazes  on  the  ground. 
The  emptiness  of  ages  in  his  face. 
And  on  his  back  the  burden  of  the  world. 
Who    made    him    dead    to    rapture    and 

despair, 
A  thing  that  grieves  not  and  that  never 

hopes, 
Stolid  and  stunned,  a  brother  to  the  ox?" 

II. 

To  meet  the  worsening  conditions  of 
country  life  many  remedies  are  suggested. 
Every  thinking  man  recognizes  that  the 
country    is    the    source    of    our    national 


Country  Life  145 

well-being,  and  on  every  side  we  hear  it 
deplored  that  the  young  especially  yield 
so. easily  to  the  lure  of  the  cities.  Hence 
not  only  faddists  and  reformers  are 
propounding  policies  for  broadening  and 
brightening  country  life,  but  serious  and 
earnest  statesmen  are  casting  about  for 
some  means  to  stem  the  tide  of  population 
toward  the  urban  centers.  It  has  been 
proposed  that  the  schoolhouse  should  be 
used  not  only  for  the  children^  but  should 
be  made  the  nucleus  of  civic  and  social 
life.  Traveling  libraries,  university  exten- 
sion courses;  rural  free  delivery,  which 
brings  to  every  home  the  products  of  the 
periodical  press,  have  all  been  set  down  as 
the  salvation  of  the  farm.  Telephones 
have  been  prescribed  as  sovereign  reme- 
dies against  the  loneliness  of  the  isolated 
ranch,  and  the  automobile,  it  is  declared, 
has  cut  the  last  chain  that  tied  the  farmer 
to  the  glebe. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  futile  these  rem- 
edies are.  When  a  man  is  wearied  with 
a  hard  day's  work,  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  raise  enough  intellectual  energy  to  read 
the  sporting  page  of  the  newspaper.     The 


146  Altar  and  Priest 

woman  that  needs  to  feed  her  soul  with 
the  interminable  chatter  of  the  telephone 
was  never  destined  to  be  a  farmer's  wife. 
The  automobile  has  its  advantages  in  the 
country,  but  joy  riding  is  not  one  of  them, 
and  then  it  makes  it  only  too  easy  for  the 
young  to  answer  the  call  of  the  pavements. 
The  fundamental  fallacy  in  all  these 
proposals  is  that  they  ignore  the  essential 
difference  between  life  in  the  city  and  life 
in  the  country.  The  city  is  artificial,  the 
country  is  natural.  The  conditions  of  the 
city,  therefore,  are  to  a  large  extent  under 
human  control ;  the  conditions  of  the  coun- 
try almost  to  the  last  detail  control  the 
dwellers  in  the  country.  In  the  city  it  does 
not  much  matter  whether  business  begins 
early,  as  in  America,  or  is  deferred  to  a 
later  hour,  as  in  some  European  nations, 
If  a  lawyer  has  neglected  to  prepare  his 
case,  it  is  easy  to  get  an  adjournment.  If 
the  merchant  misses  a  good  opportunity 
to-day,  he  may  perhaps  get  a  better  to- 
morrow. But  you  cannot  adjourn  the 
seasons;  you  cannot  postpone  the  sun. 
Heat  and  cold  will  not  come  at  your  call, 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field  will  not  wait  on 


Country  Life  147 

your  comfort  or  convenience.  The  farmer 
must  watch  for  time  and  tide,  and  neglect 
all  other  things  to  seize  them  and  to  use 
them.  They  who  try  to  engraft  the  ways 
of  the  city  on  the  life  of  the  country  pro- 
duce the  drawbacks  of  both  without  the 
advantages  of  either. 

Since  the  narrowing  influences  of  coun- 
try life  arise  from  external  causes,  they 
can  be  met  only  by  an  internal  principle. 
Nature  takes  sides  with  the  material  body 
in  its  struggle  against  the  immaterial  soul. 
Therefore  the  soul  needs  an  assistance  that 
is  above  nature.  In  this  case  the  Kingdom 
of  God  is  within  us,  and  religion  is  the 
only  salt  that  will  save  us  from  corruption. 

This  is  the  lesson  that  history  teaches. 
Into  what  manner  of  world  did  Christian- 
ity come?  The  cities  were  numerous,  full 
of  people,  full  of  wealth,  centers  of  intel- 
lectual and  fashionable  life — even  the  small 
provincial  towns  abodes  of  luxury.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  country  was  divided  into 
immense  estates  whose  landlords  cultivated 
them  by  legions  of  slaves.  Dimly  through 
the  mist  of  ages  we  see  the  Church  as  she 
went  forth  from  the  cities  to  the  evangeli- 


148  Altar  and  Priest 

zation  of  the  countryside.  It  was  a  slow, 
hard  task,  but  without  ostentation  or 
clamor,  as  the  empire  waxed  or  waned,  as 
barbarous  people  and  warlike  kings  passed 
and  repassed  on  the  stage  of  history,  she 
was  renewing  the  face  of  the  earth.  Slowly 
but  surely  the  great  prison  workhouses,  in 
which  the  slaves  were  herded,  crumbled 
and  disappeared.  The  law  of  Christian 
marriage  had  undermined  their  foun- 
dations, and  the  law  of  the  Christian 
family  had  built  out  of  the  fragments  the 
Christian  home.  Around  the  church  or 
abbey  the  hamlets  clustered,  and  often  had 
church  or  abbey  to  draw  the  sword  of  the 
spirit  to  protect  the  nascent  franchises  of 
the  peasants  against  the  stern  war  lord  who 
from  his  frowning  castle  guarded  or 
troubled  the  land.  Age  by  age  the  influ- 
ences of  Christianity  sank  deeper  and 
deeper,  and  age  by  age  rural  life  in  Europe 
grew  more  refined  and  beautiful.  Religion 
colored  its  every  department,  as  in  the 
ancient  churches  the  splendor  of  the 
stained  glass  windows  follows  the  sun  and 
transmutes  the  dull  pavement  into  mosaics 
that  outshine   the   marble   floors  of   regal 


Country  Life  149 

palaces  and  arrays  the  carven  leaves  of  the 
gray  pillars  in  a  glory  that  surpasses 
Solomon's  own. 

From  the  wayside  shrine  the  figure  of 
the  Crucified  looked  down  on  the  weary 
traveler  and  spoke  to  ears  that  heard, 
^^Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  It 
rose  in  the  midst  of  the  market-place  and 
cried  aloud  to  buyers  and  sellers,  ^'No 
man  can  serve  two  masters.  Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  Mammon."  The  Church 
was  the  center  of  their  life,  and  the  conse- 
crated bell  marked  their  hours  of  labor  as 
well  as  their  hours  of  prayer,  for  with  them 
to  labor  was  to  pray.  Sunday  and  fre- 
quent feast  days  wisely  limited  their  time 
of  toil  and  called  them  to  read  the  Bible 
of  the  poor  in  the  painted  windows  and 
to  follow  the  history  of  Redemption  in 
the  Holy  Mass.  In  the  churchyard  itself 
the  festive  stage  was  erected  and  the  Mys- 
tery plays  awed  and  delighted  their  simple 
souls.  On  the  village  green  the  young  con- 
tended in  clean  and  lusty  sports,  while  the 
fathers  of  the  hamlet  boasted  of  the  cham- 
pions  of   the   days   of   old.     In    the   long 


i^o  Altar  and  Priest 

winter  nights  the  minstrels,  who  were  of 
the  cottage  as  well  as  of  the  hall,  told  the 
tales  of  daring  knights  and  fair  ladies,  or 
chanted  the  legends  that  clung  to  rock  and 
river,  to  ruined  church  and  holy  well.  The 
unseen  world  was  very  real  to  them,  and  it 
was  by  leaning  on  the  invisible  that  they 
were  able  to  resist  the  overpowering  pres- 
sure of  the  visible  and  material.  It  was 
of  such  a  village  transplanted  to  these 
American  shores  that  Longfellow  sings  in 
^^Evangeline,"  and  who  can  read  unmoved 
the  majestic  yet  simple  lines  in  which  he 
describes  the  home  of  the  Acadian  farmers? 

^^Men  whose  lives  glided  on  like  rivers  that 
watered  the  woodlands. 

Darkened  by  shadows  of  earth,  but  reflect- 
ing the  image  of  heaven." 

In  these  mad  days  of  the  pursuit  of 
wealth,  amid  all  the  clamor  and  cry  of 
public  life,  like  a  fresh  breath  of  air  from 
the  pine  woods  to  a  fevered  brow,  like  a 
draught  of  the  cool,  clear  spring  to  the 
parched  throat  the  poet's  verses  fall  upon 
our  ears — 


Country  Life  151 

"Thus  dwelt  together  in  love  these  simple 

Acadian  farmers, — 
Dwelt  in   the   love  of   God   and   of   man. 

Alike  were  they  free  from 
Fear,  that  reigns  with  the  tyrant,  and  envy, 

the  vice  of  republics. 
Neither  locks  had  they  to  their  doors,  nor 

bars  to  their  windows; 
But  their  dwellings  were  open  as  day  and 

the  hearts  of  their  owners; 
There  the  richest  was  poor,  and  the  poorest 

lived  in  abundance." 

But  why  go  far  afield  for  examples? 
The  same  miracle  —  nay,  a  greater  —  was 
worked  here  in  our  own  California.  It  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  history  that  a  land 
so  fertile  as  this,  so  blessed  by  nature,  should 
have  been  held  by  the  most  degraded  of  all 
the  native  peoples  of  the  continent.  Yet  the 
Spanish  missioners  came  and  wrought  of 
this  wretched  material  the  wonder  whose 
very  ruins  won  from  the  cynical  gold-seeker 
the  deathless  song: 

"Bells  of  the  Past,  whose  long  forgotten 
music 

Still  fills  the  wide  expanse, 
Tingeing  the  sober  twilight  of  the  Present 

With  color  of  romance: 


I  52  Altar  and  Priest 

^'I  hear  your  call,  and  see  the  sun  descending 

On  rock  and  wave  and  sand, 
As    down   the    coast    the    Mission    voices 
blending 

Girdle  the  heathen  land. 

^^Within  the  circle  of  your  incantation 

No  blight  nor  mildew  falls ; 
Nor  fierce  unrest,  nor  lust,  nor  low  ambition 

Passes  those  airy  walls." 

III. 

To-day,  then,  the  dedication  of  this 
church  means  not  alone  that  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  Catholic  residents  of  this  valley 
have  been  met,  but  it  means  also  that  a  new 
element  of  permanency  has  been  added  to 
the  life  of  this  community  and  of  the  whole 
state.  In  the  nature  of  things  the  city 
draws  its  population  from  the  rural  dis- 
tricts, for  the  city  is  a  cruel  beast  that  de- 
vours its  own  children.  Therefore  it  is  a 
necessity  for  our  civic  welfare  that  the  rural 
districts  be  populated  and  that  they  be  pop- 
ulated by  men  and  women  of  the  best  stock. 

^^111  fares  the  land  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay; 
Princes   and   lords   may   flourish   or   may 
fade — 


Country  Life  153 

A  breath  can  make  them,  as  a  breath  has 

made; 
But  a  bold  peasantry,  their  country's  pride, 
When   once   destroyed  can   never  be  sup- 
plied." 

California,  like  every  normal  state,  must 
depend  upon  her  land.  Her  mines  may  still 
produce  gold  and  silver,  and  in  greater 
abundance;  her  oil  wells  may  increase  and 
multiply,  her  mountain  streams  furnish 
power  to  innumerable  factories,  but  her 
main  reliance  must  be  upon  the  soil.  Ag- 
riculture must  be  always  her  greatest 
resource;  and  agriculture  means  the  appli- 
cation of  human  industry  to  the  land.  How 
shall  that  industry  be  organized?  There 
are  two  types  —  the  pagan  type  of  land- 
lords, cultivating  their  domains  by  slaves; 
the  Christian  and  American  type  of  free- 
men, owning  and  working  their  own  farms. 
It  is  said  that  extremes  meet,  and  for  a  time 
it  seemed  as  if  California  were  to  revert  to 
the  conditions  of  the  Roman  empire  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  It  was 
claimed,  and  it  is  still  claimed  in  some 
quarters,  that  only  by  the  employment  of 
hordes  of  semi-slaves  from  the  Orient  can 


154  Altar  and  Priest 

the  resources  of  California  be  profitably 
developed.  Certainly  the  claim  cannot  be 
successfully  refuted,  if  the  people  will  not 
stay  on  the  land  and  if  the  ranchers  must 
rely  on  the  migratory  laborer  or  the  tramp. 
Every  influence,  therefore,  that  helps  in  the 
uplift  of  country  life  and  the  betterment  of 
those  who  make  their  living  by  the  soil 
tends  to  the  increase  and  consolidation  of 
the  rural  population,  and  is  therefore  an 
element  of  strength  to  the  state  and  of 
prosperity  to  the  whole  community. 

Such  a  cornerstone  we  lay  to-day  in  Sion. 
We  come  to  you,  not  in  the  vain  words  of 
human  wisdom,  but  in  the  showing  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power.  We  bring  you  no  new 
religion  made  by  human  hands;  we  bring 
you  the  ancient  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  Your  pastor  appears  before  you  with 
no  devices  of  his  own  invention,  but  sent  by 
the  successor  of  the  Apostles,  with  the  same 
commission  given  to  the  Apostles :  ^^ As  the 
Father  hath  sent  Me,  so  send  I  you."  The 
doctrines  he  preaches  are  not  his,  but 
the  same  doctrines  that  proceeded  from  the 
mouth  of  Christ  Himself,  ^^He  that  heareth 
you  heareth  Me."    We  teach  those  doctrines 


Country  Life  15^ 

with  no  faltering  voice  nor  doubting  heart; 
we  teach  them  in  their  full  height  and 
length  and  breadth,  as  the  infallible  reve- 
lation of  Him  who  has  promised  to  be  with 
us  all  days,  even  unto  the  consummation  of 
the  world.  We  are  no  timid  experimenters 
or  rash  enthusiasts.  We  come  to  you  with 
the  experience  of  two  thousand  years,  and 
the  sobering  responsibility  of  generations 
of  love  and  loyalty.  The  old  Church  ap- 
pears in  the  midst  of  you,  not  broken  down 
and  weak  to  claim  your  pity  and  protection, 
but  she  renews  her  youth  with  the  youth  of 
this  community,  and  she  stands  like  a  queen, 
confident  in  her  strength  to  do  in  this  age 
and  for  this  people  the  work  that  God  has 
wrought  by  her  in  every  age  and  for  every 
nation  since  her  career  began. 

This  edifice  is  yet  new,  and  round  it  cling 
no  tender  memories,  but  year  by  year  it  will 
grow  into  your  hearts,  and  sweet  associa- 
tions will  attach  themselves  to  it  like  ivy  to 
the  wall.  Here  your  children  will  be  bap- 
tized, your  marriages  blest,  your  dead 
mourned.  Here  the  little  ones  will  be 
taught  their  faith,  here  they  will  be  brought 
to  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  the  Sacrament  of  His 


156  Altar  and  Priest 

love.  Here  will  the  bishop  lay  his  hands 
upon  them  to  make  them  strong  and  perfect 
Christians.  Here  will  you  learn  to  come 
in  your  joys  and  your  sorrows  to  pray  be- 
fore the  tabernacle.  Here  at  the  feet  of  His 
priest  you  will  lay  down  the  burden  of  your 
sins.  Here,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  will  you 
assist  at  the  Divine  Sacrifice  and  listen  to 
the  preaching  of  the  Word  of  God.  Here 
will  you  receive  the  Sacrament  of  Christ's 
body,  and  from  those  doors  will  it  be  borne 
to  your  homes  what  time  the  dread  visitant 
summons  you,  that  it  may  be  your  suste- 
nance, your  Viaticum,  as  you  pass  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  As  the 
years  go  by  this  church  will  grow  dearer  to 
the  dwellers  in  this  district,  and  perhaps 
some  time,  when  your  children  and  your 
children's  children  shall  have  listened,  as 
listen  they  must,  to  the  call  of  the  city,  and 
in  the  hard  struggle  for  existence  or  in  the 
superabounding  joys  of  life  have  neglected 
or  forgotten  the  training  of  their  childhood, 
in  a  season  of  pain  or  an  hour  of  danger, 
the  thought  of  this  sanctuary  shall  come 
back  to  them  to  soften  the  hard  heart  and 
recall  the  straying  soul,  and  they  shall  re- 


Country  Life  157 

ceive  the  grace  to  remember  the  days  when 
they  were  nourished  by  this  altar  and  to  cry 
for  mercy  unto  the  God  who  gladdened 
their  youth. 

The  doctrines  you  will  be  taught  here, 
the  Sacraments  that  will  be  administered, 
the  Sacrifice  that  will  be  offered,  the  pray- 
ers that  will  ascend  like  incense  before  the 
throne  of  the  Most  High  —  these  are  the 
means  appointed  by  God  Himself  to  aid 
you  in  the  defense  of  the  soul  against  the 
encroachment  of  material  things.  Means 
they  are,  reliable  as  the  eternal  hills  that 
shelter  your  valley,  comprehensive  as  the 
heavens  that  roof  it  in.  For  you  the  rising 
sun  will  not  be  a  stern  taskmaster  calling 
you  to  labor  on  an  earth  of  iron,  beneath  a 
sky  of  brass,  but  it  will  be  the  gracious  sym- 
bol of  the  Dayspring  from  on  high,  the 
Just  Judge  who  will  come  one  day  in  glory 
to  reward  you  for  the  least  of  the  works 
you  have  done  in  His  name.  The  falling 
rain,  the  springing  blade,  the  ripening  crops, 
will  be  forever  to  you  a  repetition  of  the 
miracle  in  the  wilderness  where  He  multi- 
plied the  loaves  and  the  fishes  lest  those  that 
followed  Him  might  faint  on  the  way,  for 


158  Altar  and  Priest 

now  as  then  He  hath  compassion  upon  the 
multitude.  At  the  day's  end,  when  the 
evening  star  hangs  over  yonder  hills,  you 
will  not  sink  stupidly  to  sleep  like  the  tired 
beast,  but  you  will  lift  up  your  heart  to  the 
blessed  Mother  of  God  who  is  the  Star  of 
the  Sea,  and  pray  that  when  the  call  comes 
for  you  to  set  forth  over  the  dark  and  bitter 
waters  she  will  bring  you  safe  to  port  and 
home,  to  the  company  of  the  angels,  and  to 
Jesus,  the  fruit  of  her  womb. 


THE  APOSTOLIC  CHOIR 


The  Dedication  of  St.  Philip*s  Church,  San 
Francisco,  CaL,  Sunday,  January  19,  1913, 


THE  APOSTOLIC  CHOIR 

In  the  memorable  year  1776,  in  the  spring 
time,  before  this  republic  was  born,  Captain 
Anza,  Father  Font  and  Lieutenant  Moraga 
led  an  expedition  from  Monterey  for  the 
purpose  of  selecting  a  site  for  a  royal  Pre- 
sidio, or  fort,  and  two  missions  on  the  shores 
of  San  Francisco  bay.  On  Wednesday,  the 
twenty-seventh  of  March,  they  camped  at 
Point  Lobos,  and  on  the  following  day 
marked  out  the  tableland  back  of  Fort 
Point  as  the  future  Presidio.  Then  turning 
to  the  southeast,  and  crossing  the  rolling 
hills  they  came  into  this  district  on  Friday, 
which  that  year  happened  to  be  the  Friday 
before  Palm  Sunday,  and  therefore  the 
Feast  of  the  Seven  Dolors  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary.  Here  they  found  a  small 
lake,  and  a  beautiful  streamlet  running  into 
what  was  afterward  known  as  Mission  bay. 
In  accordance  with  the  Spanish  custom  they 
called  the  lake  and  stream  after  the  festival 
of  the  day,  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that  this 
part  of  the  peninsula  was  dedicated  to  the 
Mother  of  God,  under  the  title  of  her  Do- 


162  Altar  and  Priest 

lors.  Noting  that  the  water  was  good,  the 
soil  fertile  and  the  situation  sheltered,  they 
decided  that  the  Mission  of  San  Francisco 
should  be  built  on  Dolores  creek. 

On  their  return  to  headquarters  their  proj- 
ects were  approved,  and  on  the  seventh  of 
June,  Lieutenant  Moraga,  with  colonists 
and  friars,  set  out  to  found  the  Presidio  and 
Mission.  Traveling  by  easy  stages,  they  ar- 
rived at  Dolores  lake  on  the  twenty-seventh 
and  pitched  their  tents  by  its  waters.  On  the 
twenty-nifith,  the  Feast  of  Saints  Peter  and 
Paul,  the  first  Mass  was  said,  by  Father  Pa- 
lou,  in  a  brushwood  booth,  and  not  long 
afterwards  work  was  begun  on  the  Presidio 
and  the  Mission.  The  former  was  finished 
by  the  middle  of  September,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  October  the  latter  was  dedicated, 
with  such  solemnity  as  their  pioneer  re- 
sources permitted,  to  the  seraphic  founder 
and  patron  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  under 
the  title  of  the  Mission  of  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi. 

It  would  seem,  however,  if  it  be  lawful  so 
to  speak,  as  if  our  Lady  were  jealous  of  her 
prior  title  to  the  spot.  In  the  many  changes 
that  were  impending  the  little  lake  would 


The  Apostolic  Choir  163 

be  filled  in  and  forgotten.  The  streamlet 
that  wound  among  the  willows  and  danced 
before  the  wild  flowers  would  be  bricked 
over  and  would  pursue  its  way  through  a 
noisome  sewer,  hidden  forever  from  the 
purifying  glances  of  the  sun  and  the  eyes  of 
the  chaste  stars.  And  so  it  seemed,  lest  the 
memory  of  her  name  should  be  blotted  out, 
that  even  in  those  early  days  men  began  to 
apply  the  name  of  Dolores  to  the  Mission. 
St.  Francis  held  for  his  own  the  great  bay 
and  the  great  city  that  rose  on  its  shores,  but 
he  gracefully  surrendered  his  Mission  to  his 
beloved  Lady,  and  to  this  day  the  name  by 
which  it  is  universally  known  is  Mission 
Dolores. 

When,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  growth 
of  population  in  this  Mission  district  made 
new  parishes  necessary,  what  was  more 
fitting  than  that  the  Apostles  should  stand 
before  her  face,  who  is  called  the  Queen  of 
the  Apostles?  —  even  as  they  comforted  her 
that  sad  Friday  night  when  the  greatest  of 
her  Dolors  had  bereft  her  of  her  Beloved 
Son;  even  as  they  stood  before  her  in  the 
Upper  Room  at  Pentecost  when  the  fire  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  flamed  above  their  heads 


164  Altar  and. Priest 

and  the  Church  was  born.  First,  as  was  be- 
fitting, came  St.  Peter  and  then  St.  Paul, 
not  only  as  the  chiefs  of  the  Apostles,  but 
was  it  not  on  their  festival  that  the  first  Mass 
was  said  in  a  booth  of  boughs  on  the  banks 
of  the  Dolores?  Then  came  St.  James  and 
then  St.  John,  and  to-day  we  are  assembled 
to  welcome  another  into  that  glorious  choir 
and  to  invoke  the  name  of  St.  Philip  upon 
this  church,  that  one  more  Apostle  may 
stand  before  his  Queen  in  this  district  she 
has  chosen  for  her  own. 

It  is  not  the  least  of  the  privileges  of  our 
Holy  Religion  that  we  can  enjoy  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Apostles  and  profess  our  belief 
in  one  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church. 
It  is  a  far  cry  from  San  Francisco  and  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  to  Bethsaida  and  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  Nigh  twenty  centuries  have 
passed  by  since  Philip  said  to  Nathaniel, 
*^We  have  found  him  of  whom  the  proph- 
ets wrote.''  Yet,  across  all  those  changeful 
years  and  over  those  weary  leagues  of  land 
and  sea,  with  never  a  break,  stretches  the 
Apostolic  succession,  and  we  are  as  close  to 
Philip  as  were  the  five  thousand  what  time 
His  Master  tried  him:    ^Whence  shall  we 


The  Apostolic  Choir  165 

buy  bread  that  this  multitude  may  eat,  in 
the  wilderness?" 

You  have  often  seen  church  processions. 
As  the  Bishop  went  round  the  walls  of  this 
church  to-day  I  am  sure  you  noticed  how 
the  cross  went  first  and  the  ministers  fol- 
lowed in  order.  The  cross  is  the  standard 
of  our  Great  King,  and  the  cross-bearer 
always  leads  our  processions.  This  thought 
was  in  the  mind  of  the  saintly  Junipero 
Serra  the  first  time  he  looked  on  the  Golden 
Gate.  For  various  reasons  he  had  not  been 
at  the  founding  of  Mission  Dolores,  and  first 
visited  it  a  year  later.  On  the  Feast  of  St. 
Francis,  1777,  he  sang  the  High  Mass,  and 
afterwards  they  took  him  to  the  Presidio 
and  showed  him  the  Golden  Gate.  As  he 
gazed  on  that  magnificent  estuary  and  saw 
the  bay,  like  another  Mediterranean,  on 
his  right  stretching  north  and  south  as  far 
as  eye  could  see,  he  remembered  the  time 
when  he  had  crossed  over  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia from  Mexico,  and  the  march  on  foot 
from  the  extremity  of  that  barren  peninsula 
under  scorching  skies  and  through  sandy 
deserts;  there  rose  before  his  mind  the  pic- 
ture of  mission  after  mission  for  the  conver- 


1 66  Altar  and  Priest 

sion  of  the  Indians  marking  the  new  King's 
Highway;  and  his  heart  leaped  for  joy  and 
he  cried  out: 

^Thanks  be  to  God;  now  is  our  Father 
St.  Francis  the  cross-bearer  of  the  proces- 
sion of  the  missions,  and  he  has  reached  the 
end  of  the  California  continent,  for  beyond 
it  is  the  sea,  and  we  must  needs  embark 
again  to  pass  over." 

So  may  we  not  say  that  to-day  St.  Philip 
is  the  cross-bearer  of  the  Church  of  God? 
As  we  look  back  from  this  new  altar  we  see 
the  long  procession  of  our  fathers  in  the 
faith  stretching  through  the  ages  to  the 
Apostolic  supper  room  and  the  divine  com- 
mission to  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations. 
Their  march  is  now  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  now  through  green 
pastures  and  by  waters  of  rest;  now  they 
shine  in  splendor  on  the  hillside,  now  they 
are  almost  lost  in  the  mists  that  veil  the 
marsh;  now  they  go  in  pomp  and  power, 
now  they  are  almost  overborne  by  the  gates 
of  hell.  But  whether  in  sunshine  or  in 
shadow,  in  peace  or  in  war,  in  good  repute 
or  in  bad  repute,  their  ranks  are  ever  un- 


The  Apostolic  Choir  i6j 

broken  and  their  eyes  never  wander  from 
the  cross  that  goes  before. 

And  when  wx  look  more  closely  we  see  a 
stranger  phenomenon  still.  All  the  other 
lines  of  human  thought,  of  human  endeavor, 
of  human  achievement  are  rent  and  broken. 
Forgotten  peoples  and  strange  civilizations 
loom  up  in  the  prehistoric  darkness,  and  in 
a  moment  they  disappear.  Egypt  and  As- 
syria, Babylon  and  Tyre,  made  a  mighty 
show  for  a  time,  but  their  grandeur  quickly 
passed.  Alexander  and  his  officers,  who 
were  kings,  swept  through  the  world  like  a 
prairie  fire,  and  as  suddenly  their  power 
was  spent.  The  stately  majesty  of  the 
Roman  peace  seemed  to  promise  eternity, 
but  Rome,  too,  fell  before  the  universal  law. 
Kings  and  peoples,  statesmen  and  philoso- 
phers appear  for  a  moment  on  the  stage  of 
history,  and  in  a  moment  they  are  gone. 
The  path  of  the  ages  is  strewn  with  broken 
sceptres,  torn  constitutions,  outworn  sys- 
tems, abandoned  philosophies.  As  on  the 
eastern  flanks  of  the  high  Sierras  the  melting 
snows  give  birth  to  a  thousand  streams  that 
go  rejoicing  down  the  mountain  sides,  swell- 
ing at  times  to  goodly  rivers  and  promising 


1 68  Altar  and  Priest 

fertility  to  the  fields,  but  as  they  reach  the 
plain  their  current  is  slackened  and  arrested 
till  they  lose  themselves  in  stagnant  sinks  or 
are  swallowed  up  in  the  desert  sands,  so  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  whole  course  of  human 
history  tended  to  that  valley  which  the 
prophet  saw  in  vision  filled  with  the 
bleaching  bones  of  the  unburied  dead. 

What  is  it  that  exempts  the  Church  from 
the  fate  that  overtakes  all  human  institu- 
tions? The  answer  is  plain.  The  Church 
is  not  a  human  institution.  It  is  the  work- 
manship of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  sent  into 
the  world  not  by  the  will  of  man  but  by 
the  power  of  God.  After  His  resurrection 
our  Lord  solemnly  charged  His  Apostles, 
saying: 

^^All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach 
all  nations :  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you,  and 
behold  I  am  with  you  all  days  even  unto 
the  consummation  of  the  world." 

This  is  the  commission  in  virtue  of  which 
the  Apostles  went  forth  to  make  disciples 


The  Apostolic  Choir  169 

of  every  people;  this  is  the  life  that  like  an 
electric  current  runs  through  the  line  of  the 
Apostles'  successors  to  the  present  hour; 
this  the  promise  that  makes  the  future  se- 
cure till  time  shall  be  no  more.  ^^I,  even  I, 
am  with  you  all  days  unto  the  consummation 
of  the  vv^orld."  Like  the  pillar  of  fire  that 
went  before  the  marching  Israelites,  so 
Christ  marches  with  His  Church.  We  do 
not  see  Him,  but  we  know  Him  in  the 
storm  stilled,  and  in  the  broken  and 
shattered  gates  of  hell.  We  have  seen  the 
victories  of  the  past  with  the  eyes  of  his- 
tory; we  can  follow  the  fortunes  of  the 
future  with  the  eyes  of  faith.  We  have  not 
the  slightest  temptation  to  doubt.  The 
promise  of  the  Lord  cannot  be  broken. 
Adown  the  ages  yet  to  be,  the  stately 
procession  shall  continue  its  course  with 
unfaltering  steps  and  unbroken  ranks  until 
the  pillar  of  fire  shall  merge  into  the  splen- 
dor of  the  Day  Spring  from  on  high  and 
Christ  shall  receive  the  processional  cross 
from  the  feeble  hands  of  His  last  vicar  and 
shall  turn  Him  and  sit  in  the  seat  of  His 
majesty  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead. 
These  thoughts  remind  us  to-day  that  we 


170  Altar  and  Priest 

Catholics  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreign- 
ers, but  fellow  citizens  of  the  saints — mem- 
bers of  God's  household  built  upon  the 
foundations  of  the  prophets  and  Apostles, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner- 
stone. And  if  you  require  any  assurance  of 
your  inheritance  here  is  a  homely  proof  that 
every  man  can  understand.  The  reasoning 
of  the  Apostle  is  plain : 

^^How  shall  men  call  on  a  Lord  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed?  Or  how  shall  they 
believe  in  Him  of  whom  they  have  not 
heard?  And  how  shall  they  hear  without 
a  preacher?  And  how  shall  they  preach 
unless  they  be  sent?" 

Christ  sent  the  Apostles  who  sent  the  men 
that  to-day  take  it  upon  themselves  to  preach 
the  word  of  God.  Go  to  the  churches  or  re- 
ligious denominations  and  ask  them  who 
gave  them  their  commission?  Ask  the 
builders  of  the  latest  church  in  this  city 
where  they  boast  of  exercising  the  Apostles' 
miraculous  gifts,  and  they  will  answer  you 
that  they  were  founded  only  a  few  years  ago 
by  the  latest  female  companion  of  Simon 
Magus,  who  would  sell  the  grace  of  God 
for  money,  and  blasphemes  with  her  New 


The  Apostolic  Choir  171 

England  witchcrafts  the  names  of  Christian 
and  of  Science.  Inquire  of  the  Methodist 
which  of  the  Apostles  sent  him  forth,  and 
he  will  tell  you  that  his  father  in  the  faith 
was  John  Wesley,  whose  Christian  charity 
was  so  boundless  that  he  would  not  suffer  a 
single  Catholic  to  exist  in  any  Protestant 
state.  Ask  the  Presbyterian,  and  you  will 
find  that  his  credentials  are  signed  by  the 
cruel  Calvin  and  the  crafty  Knox.  Ask  the 
Episcopalian,  and  he  must  acknowledge  that 
the  founders  of  his  religion  were  ^^Henry, 
the  murderer  of  his  wives;  Somerset,  the 
murderer  of  his  brother,  and  Elizabeth,  the 
murderer  of  her  guest."  Ask  the  Lutheran, 
and  his  very  name  bears  witness  that  he 
springs  from  the  faithless  friar  whose  pas- 
sions and  pride  rent  the  seamless  garment 
of  Christ  and  consigned  his  unhappy  coun- 
try to  three  centuries  of  war  and  barbarism. 
But  go  to  the  Catholic  cathedral,  and  note 
how  the  symbolic  chair  of  teaching  is  set  in 
the  sanctuary,  and  ask  him  who  occupies  by 
what  right  he  teaches  and  whence  comes  his 
authority,  and  he  will  answer  that  he  is 
^^Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  by  the  grace 
of  God  and  the  favor  of  the  Apostolic  See.'' 


172  Altar  and  Priest 

What  does  that  high-sounding  formula 
signify?  What  is  this  see  that  claims  to  be 
Apostolic?  The  answer  is  well  known  to 
you.  When  Christ  organized  His  Church, 
He  organized  it  upon  the  Apostles.  Out  of 
His  many  followers  He  chose  twelve,  and 
the  twelve  He  Himself  taught,  and  the 
twelve  He  sent  out  to  make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations  and  to  the  twelve  He  gave  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing — that  is  to 
say,  the  power  of  governing  the  Church. 
Of  this  group  of  twelve  He  constituted  St. 
Peter  the  head  when  He  bade  him  feed  His 
sheep  and  lambs  even  as  He  had  promised 
to  make  him  the  Rock  foundation  which 
was  to  hold  the  whole  Church  together  to 
the  end  of  time.  All  the  Apostles  had  uni- 
versal jurisdiction,  for  they  fulfilled  the 
prophecy:  Their  sound  hath  gone  forth 
unto  all  the  earth  and  their  words  unto 
the  ends  of  the  whole  world.  But  when 
they  went  into  a  city  or  a  town  and 
made  disciples  and  organized  a  church  and 
set  a  bishop  over  it  they  did  not  give  him 
their  world-wide  authority,  but  only  juris- 
diction over  his  own  locality.  The  Apostle 
passed  on  to  another  town,  and  the  bishop. 


The  Apostolic  Choir  173 

as  his  successor,  governed  in  his  stead,  but 
he  was  not  an  Apostle  in  the  sense  in  which 
Christ  established  the  twelve  or  as  Matthias 
succeeded  to  the  place  whence  Judas  fell. 

But  with  St.  Peter,  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  the  case  was  different.  Christ  in- 
tended that  the  Apostolic  authority  should 
remain  in  His  Church.  Therefore,  the  au- 
thority which  He  had  given  to  the  Apostles 
as  a  body  He  gave  to  St.  Peter  personally. 
When  St.  Peter  died  that  supreme  Apostolic 
authority  passed  to  his  successors,  the  Popes 
of  Rome,  and  thus  Rome  is  known  as  the 
Apostolic  See  because  it  is  the  only  see  that 
enjoys  the  fullness  of  the  Apostles'  power 
and  exercises  the  plentitude  of  the  Apostles' 
jurisdiction. 

And  as  the  providence  of  God  sometimes 
emphasizes  the  truth  of  His  revelation  by 
the  logic  of  the  accomplished  fact,  so  has 
history  vindicated  the  unique  claims  of  the 
Apostolic  See.  When  he  fulfilled  the  types 
of  the  Old  Law  and  in  the  Sacrifice  on  Cal- 
vary ended  all  other  sacrifices  He  inspired 
the  Roman  soldier  to  hurl  the  torch  that  de- 
stroyed the  temple  of  Jerusalem  and  left 
the  site  of  the  Altar  of  Holocausts  as  bare  as 


174  Altar  and  Priest 

the  day  Abraham  lifted  up  his  hand  to  slay 
his  son.  So  when  the  Apostolic  authority 
was  concentrated  in  the  See  of  St.  Peter,  He, 
so  to  speak,  delivered  over  the  other  Apos- 
tolic sees  to  schism  and  to  heresy  and  to 
infidel  rule.  Jerusalem  and  Antioch  and 
Alexandria  and  the  upstart  Constantinople 
have  long  since  had  their  candlesticks  re- 
moved, while  the  Christian  people  have 
rallied  round  Rome,  not  only  as  the  pre- 
server of  the  Christian  faith  but  as  the  most 
sure  defense  of  Christian  civilization. 

So,  therefore,  if  men  object  that  this  See 
of  San  Francisco  is  a  new  institution  which 
numbers  only  two  archbishops  in  its  succes- 
sion, we  point  at  once  to  the  long  line  of 
Roman  Pontiffs  in  which  that  succession  had 
its  source.  Go  to  the  historic  See  of  Balti- 
more, coeval  almost  with  this  republic,  and 
ask  where  it  had  its  beginning,  and  they  will 
tell  you  with  John  Carroll,  who  was  com- 
missioned by  the  Apostolic  See.  Demand  of 
the  venerable  bishops  of  Germany,  as  they 
meet  at  Fulda,  whence  their  line  descends, 
and  they  will  point  to  the  tomb  of  St.  Bon- 
iface and  answer  he  was  sent  by  Rome.  Go 
to  a  more  ancient  hierarchy  and  ask  the 


The  Apostolic   Choir  175 

archbishop  who  sits  in  Armagh  where  is  the 
fountain  of  his  authority,  and  he  will  point 
to  Patrick  whom  Celestine,  the  Pope,  sent 
to  the  Irish  that  believed  in  Christ.  So,  in 
every  age,  into  every  country,  this  Apostolic 
See  is  sending  the  successors  of  the  Apostles, 
and  the  very  same  authority  that  sent  Pat- 
rick to  Ireland,  and  Augustine  to  England, 
and  Boniface  to  Germany,  and  Cyril  and 
Methodius  to  the  Slavs,  and  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Franciscans  to  California,  has  sent  the 
Archbishop  to  San  Francisco,  and  sent  your 
pastor  to  you. 

This,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  to-day's 
celebration.  No  parish  can  be  formed,  no 
church  dedicated  without  the  authority  of 
him  who  is  the  successor  of  the  Apostles  and 
wields  for  his  diocese  the  Apostolic  au- 
thority. When  we  preach,  we  preach  be- 
cause we  are  commissioned  by  his  Apostolic 
command;  when  we  minister,  we  minister 
as  empowered  by  his  Apostolic  jurisdiction; 
when  we  sacrifice,  we  sacrifice  by  virtue  of 
his  Apostolic  ordination.  And  therefore 
while  to-day  I  congratulate  you  on  the 
dedication  of  this  church  and  on  having  for 
your  pastor  a  priest  whose  zeal  and  energy 


176  Altar  and  Priest 

and  talents  have  achieved  in  every  place  he 
has  labored  a  more  than  common  success,  I 
congratulate  you  most  of  all  that  by  this 
ceremony  you  are,  as  it  were,  visibly  knit 
into  the  Apostolic  line — rooted  and  founded 
upon  the  Apostles,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  be- 
ing the  chief  cornerstone.  And  remember 
the  great  procession  cannot  stand  still.  St. 
Philip  is  the  cross-bearer  for  a  day  — 
to-morrow  it  must  pass  into  other  hands. 
This  is  your  station,  but  your  children  and 
your  children's  children  shall  carry  it  on. 
They  shall  be  the  priests  and  bishops  of  the 
days  to  come,  and  may  this  be  your  noblest 
boast,  that  in  your  hands  the  standard  of  the 
King  was  held  as  high,  and  that  in  your  chil- 
dren it  shall  be  advanced  as  gallantly,  as  in 
the  days  when  the  beauty  of  the  Apostles' 
feet  was  yet  new  upon  the  mountains  and 
their  voices  first  awakened  with  their  glad 
tidings  the  echoes  of  the  ends  of  the  world. 


THUS  SAITH  THE  LORD 


The  Silver  Jubilee  of  St  James*  Church,  San 
Francisco,  Ca/.,  Sunda}f,  September  7,  I9f3. 


THUS  SAITH  THE  LORD 

Among  the  many  pure  and  holy  joys 
with  which  God  has  strewn  the  path 
of  life  there  is  none  more  serene,  none 
more  lasting  than  the  joy  that  comes 
from  the  remembrance  of  duty  well  per- 
formed. Touching  indeed  are  the  thoughts 
this  day  evokes.  Sacred  the  memories  en- 
shrined in  this  church.  Your  joys  and 
your  sorrows,  your  trials  and  your  tri- 
umphs, your  hopes  and  your  fears,  bring 
their  tribute  to-day  to  this  celebration  as 
the  instruments  in  an  orchestra  conspire  to 
produce  some  magnificent  symphony.  But 
as  in  the  march  of  the  massive  harmonies 
there  is  one  instrument  that,  so  to  speak, 
stands  out  and  directs  the  others,  so  to-day 
in  this  celebration  the  notes  of  the  trumpet 
of  jubilee  ring  out  clear  and  sweet  and 
sure  thanking  God  that  here  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago  you  lifted  up  His  standard, 
and  that  here  you  have  held  it  secure 
through  all  those  changing  years. 

It  is  written  in  the  law  that  when  the 


l8o  Altar  and  Priest 

people  were  to  be  summoned  the  trumpet 
should  sound  plainly,  and  not  with  broken 
notes;  for,  as  the  Apostle  says,  if  the 
trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound,  who  shall 
prepare  himself  for  the  battle?  This  is  the 
characteristic  of  your  celebration.  It  was 
no  uncertain  voice  that  rallied  you  in  the 
beginning  to  the  foundation  of  St.  James'. 
In  no  uncertain  voice  have  you  and  your 
children  been  taught  from  this  pulpit  the 
doctrines  of  the  faith.  In  no  uncertain 
voice  rises  now  your  hymn  of  thanksgiving 
saying  with  St.  Paul:  ^*I  know  Him  in 
whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  certain 
that  He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have 
committed  to  Him  against  that  day.'' 

It  is  this  note  of  certainty  that  attracts 
the  attention  of  the  thoughtful  to  celebra- 
tions such  as  this.  Other  jubilees  there 
are — thanksgivings  for  benefits  received,  or 
obstacles  conquered.  But  the  jubilee  of  a 
parish  has  a  character  all  its  own.  It 
commemorates  the  setting  up  of  a  chair  of 
teaching  and  a  center  of  government;  and 
as  in  the  old  days  the  people  were  in  ad- 
miration at  our  Lord's  doctrine  because  He 
taught  as  one  having  authority,  so  now  in 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  i8i 

a  world  of  confusion  men  instinctively 
turn  to  an  institution  that  knows  its  own 
mind  and  is  not  afraid  to  express  it  in 
terms  that  may  not  be  misunderstood. 

For,  never  since  the  Lord  descended  in 
anger  to  the  plain  of  Senaar  and  smote  the 
builders  of  Babel  for  their  pride  has  there 
been  such  confusion  as  in  this  country  to- 
day. In  religion  the  ordinary  man  out- 
side of  the  Catholic  Church  has  frankly 
thrown  up  his  hands  in  despair  of  choosing 
between  the  conflicting  sects — old  and  new. 
In  politics  no  one  knows  what  the  morrow 
may  bring  forth.  Principles  are  hidden  in 
the  haze  of  new  speculations  and  the  blind 
are  groping  and  stumbling  at  the  heels  of 
the  blind.  In  science  theory  succeeds 
theory  with  the  rapidity  of  a  kaleidoscope 
and  in  philosophy  truth  is  only  a  working 
hypothesis  that  to-morrow  is  bound  to  dis- 
possess. 

Where  such  conditions  prevail,  and  pre- 
vail so  universally,  there  must  be  one 
general  cause  to  account  for  them.  Sur- 
face causes  are  easy  enough  to  see,  but 
deep  down  there  must  be  some  principle 
at  work  to  produce  those  varied  ramifica- 


1 82  Altar  and  Priest 

tions  of  confusion.  I  think  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  a  sufficient  cause  is  to  be 
found  in  the  modern  rejection  of  the  idea 
of  authority.  Here  in  this  country  men 
refuse  the  right  of  any  power  to  compel 
them  to  adopt  or  abstain  from,  any  course 
of  action  save  and  except  the  power  of 
their  own  sweet  will.  Its  decisions  may 
be  formulated  by  the  majority  at  the  polls, 
or  they  may  arise  from  the  predelictions 
of  the  individual;  but  in  both  cases  the 
human  will  is  the  supreme  authority,  the 
court  of  last  resort.  Outside  of  the  Catho- 
lic body,  either  in  church  or  state,  there 
is  no  longer  a  voice  that  claims  power  over 
majorities  and  individuals  alike,  or  con- 
fronts the  peoples  with  the  proclamation 
of  the  ancient  prophets:  ^Thus  saith  the 
Lord." 

Let  me  illustrate  my  thought  by  an  inci- 
dent. A  few  days  ago  I  received  a  chal- 
lenge from  a  certain  socialist  lecturer  to 
debate  with  him  the  proposition,  ^^The 
ethics  of  Christianity  are  the  ethics  of 
socialism."  In  reply  I  told  him  that  the 
proposition  was  not  debatable  because  we 
could  never  agree  on  the  meaning  of  the 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  183 

first  term,  ^^the  ethics  of  Christianity."  He 
would  naturally  take  it  to  mean  the  ethics 
of  Protestant  Christianity  and  I  would 
take  it  to  mean  the  ethics  of  Catholic 
Christianity,  and  ^^the  two,"  I  said,  ^^are 
as  far  asunder  as  the  poles."  I  can  well 
imagine  his  astonishment  as  he  read  the 
answer  and  how  he  would  ask,  ^^Do  not 
Catholics  and  Protestants  believe  in  the 
same  Ten  Commandments?  Do  not  Cath- 
olics  and  Protestants  uphold  the  prohibi- 
tions, Thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery,  thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  witness'?  How,  then, 
can  their  ethics  be  so  different?" 

But  it  is  not  the  substance  of  what 
men  believe  that  counts,  but  the  reason 
why  they  believe  it.  It  did  not  take 
the  Ten  Commandments  to  tell  us  that 
murder  was  wrong,  that  stealing  was 
wrong.  These  things  were  written  on  the 
fleshly  tablets  of  the  human  heart  long 
before  they  were  graven  on  the  tables  of 
stone  on  Sinai.  What  makes  the  essential 
difference  between  one  code  of  ethics  and 
another  is  the  sanction  that  is  behind  them. 
Why  is  it  wrong  to  commit  adultery,  why 


184  Altar  and  Priest 

is  it  wrong  to  bear  false  witness?  By  what 
authority  do  you  command?  By  what 
authority  do  you  forbid?  In  this  country 
the  vast  majority  will  answer  you,  **It  is 
the  law  of  the  land."  We  have  made 
those  rules.  It  is  the  will  of  the  majority 
that  they  should  be  obeyed.  We  have 
provided  penalties  against  those  who 
offend,  and  if  necessary  all  the  resources 
of  the  state  will  be  employed  to  enforce 
those  penalties. 

On  the  contrary,  while  the  Catholic 
Church  recognizes  the  right  of  the  people 
to  make  these  laws,  and  to  go  beyond 
them,  and  adapt  them  to  the  circumstances 
of  times  and  localities,  she  holds  that  the 
authority  behind  those  enactments  is  the 
authority  of  God  and  their  sanction  is  the 
sanction  of  Him  who  is  the  Judge  of  the 
living  and  the  dead.  They  do  not  depend 
for  their  force  on  the  majority  that  passes 
them  or  on  the  police  power  of  the  state 
that  executes  them;  their  binding  authority 
comes  from  the  Omnipotent  Creator,  who 
is  able  to  compel  their  observance,  and 
from  the  All-Seeing  Judge,  who  will 
require    from    individuals    and    majorities 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  185 

alike  a  strict  account  of  their  slightest 
infringement. 

It  is  the  teaching  of  the  Church  that 
there  is  an  authority  in  the  world  superior 
to  and  distinct  from  the  human  will. 
There  exists  amongst  us  a  power  that  has 
the  right  to  demand  obedience  from  men, 
whether  they  like  it  or  not.  We  still 
stand  by  the  Apostle's  doctrine,  ^^Let  every 
soul  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers;  for 
there  is  no  power  but  from  God  and  those 
that  are  ordained  of  God.  Therefore  he 
that  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordi- 
nance of  God.  And  they  that  resist  pur- 
chase to  themselves  damnation."  The 
whole  question  is  taken  out  of  the  domain 
of  fines,  imprisonment  and  hanging  and 
transferred  to  the  domain  of  conscience. 
We  must  obey  authority,  not  because 
authority  is  strong  enough  to  punish  us, 
but  because  we  are  bound  to  obey  God, 
the  source  of  all  authority. 

This  authority  which  exists  on  earth  is, 
so  to  speak,  ordained  in  two  organizations, 
the  one  natural,  the  other  supernatural,  the 
one  having  supreme  authority  in  temporal 
things  and  known  as  the  state,  the  other  hav- 


1 86  Altar  and  Priest 

ing  supreme  authority  in  spiritual  things 
and  known  as  the  church.  In  church  and 
state  the  source  of  the  authority  is  the 
same,  and  the  authority  in  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  as  much  the  author- 
ity of  God  as  the  authority  in  the  Pope  of 
Rom©.  The  people  may  order  their  state 
as  suits  them  best,  they  may  freely  choose 
the  magistrates  who  are  to  bear  the  author- 
ity, but  that  authority  does  not  cease  to  be 
divine  simply  because  it  is  exercised  in  a 
natural  organism  such  as  the  state.  God 
is  the  God  of  nature  as  well  as  the  God  of 
grace,  and  St.  Paul  says  to  the  civil  magis- 
trate, "He  is  God's  minister,  an  avenger 
to  execute  wrath  on  him  that  doth  evil. 
Wherefore,  be  ye  subject  of  necessity,  not 
only  for  wrath  but  also  for  conscience 
sake." 

These  principles  are  so  foreign  to  the 
habitual  thought  of  the  people  of  this 
country  that  when  they  hear  them  they  are 
displeased  and  always  confound  them  with 
the  hateful  theories  of  "the  divine  right 
of  kings  to  govern  wrong."  Even  Cath- 
olics, while  they  admit  the  principle  of 
authority  in  religious  matters,  take  it  for 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  187 

granted  that  in  the  state  the  will  of  the 
majority  is  supreme,  and  that  as  the  state 
makes  the  laws  the  only  sanction  they  need 
is  the  coercive  power  of  the  state.  The 
idea  of  the  ^^higher  law,"  which  was  once 
so  prevalent  in  America,  is  practically 
dead.  To-day  in  political  thought  the 
majority  is  omnipotent. 

The  origin  of  these  popular  errors  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Protestant  revolution  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  When  Luther  de- 
nied the  authority  of  the  church  it  was 
clearly  seen  and  freely  prophesied  that  his 
premises  led  to  the  denial  of  the  authority 
of  the  state.  When  he  made  the  individual 
the  supreme  judge  in  religion  he  opened 
the  way  for  making  the  individual  the 
supreme  judge  in  politics.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  even  in  his  own  lifetime  anarchy  in 
civil  affairs  marched  hand  in  hand  with 
anarchy  in  spiritual  affairs.  As  his  fol- 
lowers here  and  there  hurried  to  the 
denial  of  every  Christian  doctrine,  so  they 
launched  into  mob  violence  and  rebellion 
until  the  Protestant  secular  princes  them- 
selves were  compelled  to  exterminate  them 
with   fire   and   sword   and   to    render   the 


1 88  Altar  and  Priest 

religious  revolution  innocuous  by  bringing 
the  new  churches  into  the  strictest  subjec- 
tion to  the  state. 

But  principles  good  or  bad  will  always 
work  their  way.  The  absolute  supremacy 
of  the  individual  developed  into  the  revolt 
of  the  gentlemen  against  the  government 
of  the  king,  then  into  the  revolt  of  the 
merchants  and  the  professional  men  against 
the  government  of  the  nobles,  then  into 
the  revolt  of  the  common  people  against 
the  government  of  the  bourgeoisie,  and 
now  into  the  revolt  of  the  socialists  against 
the  government  of  the  common  people, 
and  to-morrow  into  the  revolt  of  the  so- 
called  industrials  against  any  government 
at  all. 

Here,  then,  is  the  significance  of  this 
jubilee.  As  in  the  beginning  anarchy  in 
religion  was  transferred  into  politics,  so 
now  shall  authority  in  religion  strive  to 
restore  authority  in  the  civil  domain.  This 
is  a  stronghold  of  the  ancient  doctrine  that 
God  has  His  rights.  Twenty- five  years 
ago  you  founded  this  parish  on  the  rock 
of  Christ's  principality,  and,  though  in  that 
space  of  time   a  new  fashion  of   thought 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  189 

has  submerged  the  world,  it  has  broken  in 
vain  on  the  foundations  you  have  so  well 
and  truly  laid.  The  doctrine  that  has  been 
taught  here  is  the  same  doctrine  enunciated 
by  Him  who  said  to  the  Apostles,  ^^All 
power  is  given  to  Me  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,"  and  ^^As  the  Father  hath  sent  me 
so  send  I  you."  You  have  accepted  that 
doctrine  not  because  it  pleased  your  ears, 
but  because  of  the  authority  of  Him  that 
delivered  it.  You  have  maintained  it 
against  all  comers,  not  to  be  praised  by 
men  or  to  escape  their  censure,  but  because 
the  trumpet  of  Sinai  rang  in  your  ears,  and 
you  humbly  bowed  your  heads  and  said, 
*^It  is  the  Lord.  May  His  blessed  will  be 
done." 

To  render  more  plain  the  thought  that 
is  in  my  mind  I  will  call  to  your  atten- 
tion three  considerations  drawn  not  from 
authority  or  revelation,  but  from  your  own 
experience  and  the  dictates  of  common 
sense  which  may  serve  to  show  you  that 
where  there  is  no  authority  there  can  be 
no  real  liberty  in  the  sense  our  fathers 
understood  it  and  we  wish  to  preserve  it. 


IQO  Altar  and  Priest 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  take  the  case  of 
personal  or  individual  freedom.  Men  of 
our  race  and  upbringing  have  a  conception 
of  personal  liberty  differing  much  from 
that  of  men  of  other  races.  We  have 
always  boasted  that  we  were  not  hampered 
by  the  red  tape  or  pestered  by  the  minute 
surveillance  that  obtains  among  other  peo- 
ples. Especially  did  we  glory  that  the 
American  woman  was  able  to  take  care  of 
herself,  and  she  consequently  enjoyed  an 
amount  of  liberty  that  was  often  the  aston- 
ishment of  Europeans.  However,  this  com- 
munity, and,  in  fact,  the  whole  United 
States,  have  been  sadly  reminded  that  hu- 
man nature  in  America  is  much  the  same 
as  human  nature  in  other  lands.  The  case 
is  one  which  comes  under  the  category  of 
those  things  ^^that  should  not  be  as  much 
as  mentioned  among  you,"  as  St.  Paul  says, 
and  is  mostly  significant  in  the  fact  that  the 
many  who  have  discoursed  about  it  have 
missed  its  true  lesson.  It  is  nothing  new  in 
the  history  of  mankind  that  baseness  and 
folly  go  hand  in  hand.  The  law  has  never 
been  known  to  fail  that  whatsoever  men 
sow,  the  same,  also,  shall  they  reap.     But 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  191 

here  is  what  must  arrest  our  attention — the 
extraordinary  character  of  the  social  and 
family  life  that  it  exhibits.  There  is  an 
absolute  lack  of  all  sense  of  authority  and 
of  personal  responsibility.  The  family 
seems  to  be  absolved  of  all  care  for  the  con- 
duct of  its  members.  Children  appear  as 
absolute  mistresses  of  their  comings  and 
goings.  A  poor,  pitiful  plea  to  the  civil 
law  seems  to  be  the  only  remedy  that  oc- 
curs to  the  minds  of  those  aggrieved.  Then 
the  inevitable  happened.  The  American 
girl  could  take  care  of  herself  in  our  old 
simple  conditions  because  she  was  a  woman 
of  religion,  and  her  parents,  no  matter  how 
free  they  left  her,  realized  that  they  had  a 
duty  to  perform,  and  performed  it  at  any 
cost.  Under  our  new  conditions,  with  no 
family  authority  left  and  no  sense  of  in- 
dividual responsibility,  the  old  freedom 
can  only  bring  disaster.  For  women  decent 
liberty  can  only  flourish  in  the  austere 
atmosphere  of  Christianity.  Destroy  that 
atmosphere,  and  all  the  laws  in  the  world 
will  not  save  us  from  the  choice  of  pagan 
license  or  the  grated  window  and  the 
Turkish  veil. 


192  Altar  and  Priest 

In  the  second  place,  Americans  have 
always  been  proud  of  their  political  liberty. 
This,  above  all  other  countries,  has  been 
the  land  of  the  free  and  the  refuge  of  the 
oppressed.  Our  liberties  have  always  been 
regulated  by  law  and  order,  and  under 
them  we  have  grown  and  prospered  as  few 
nations  have  grown  and  prospered  in 
human  history.  But  already  the  alterna- 
tives loom  large  before  us — must  we  de- 
stroy our  civilization  to  preserve  liberty, 
or  must  we  sacrifice  liberty  to  preserve 
our  civilization?  Socialism  is  the  direct 
product  of  the  idea  that  there  is  no  au- 
thority save  the  authority  of  the  bigger 
mob,  and  socialism  is  rapidly  running  into 
syndicalism  and  to  the  doctrine  that  there 
is  no  authority  save  in  the  individual 
human  will. 

,The  question  therefore  that  is  growing 
daily  more  pressing  for  the  people  of  the 
United  States  is  what  attitude  to  take 
toward  this  rapidly  spreading  doctrine. 
If  it  is  adopted  our  civilization  is  surely 
doomed.  No  body  of  men  can  exist  in 
that  condition  of  absolute  individual  in- 
dependence  unless   they  wish   to   exist   as 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  193 

did  the  Digger  Indians  of  California  be- 
fore the  friars  came.  But  you  know  that 
this  civilization  is  too  great,  its  prizes 
too  tempting,  for  men  to  let  it  go  down 
merely  to  gratify  the  deluded  and  the 
unfit.  The  men  of  affairs,  the  men  of 
vision,  the  strong  men,  the  men  of  brains 
will  not  permit  their  work  to  be  brought 
to  naught  by  the  feeble  paper  of  the  ballot 
box.  Now,  there  are  only  two  ways  by 
which  a  stable  condition  of  things  can  be 
maintained — the  one  through  the  idea  of 
authority,  which  appeals  to  the  conscience; 
the  other  through  the  strength  of  the 
mailed  fist,  which  knows  no  right  but 
might.  If,  then,  authority  fails,  there  is 
nothing  left  but  anarchy  and  barbarism, 
out  of  which  the  Church  would  begin 
again  to  reconstruct  civilization,  as  she  did 
after  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  or  else, 
provided  that  we  are  not  overwhelmed  by 
physical  disaster  from  within  or  oppressed 
by  force  from  without,  the  people  of  this 
country  will  be  compelled  to  keep  their 
civilization  by  surrendering  their  liberties 
and  maintaining  order  by  some  form  of 
military  despotism. 


194  Altar  and  Priest 

In  the  third  place,  how  essential  the  idea 
of  authority  is  to  true  liberty  in  religion 
is  evident  from  the  consideration  of  this 
or  any  other  Catholic  parish.  The  re- 
formers threw  oflf  what  they  called  the 
tyranny  of  the  papacy,  and  the  preachers 
soon  found  that  the  little  finger  of  the 
congregation  was  heavier  than  the  loins  of 
the  Pope.  Here  in  this  church  as  the  altar 
rail  separates  you  from  the  priest,  so  the 
law  of  the  Church  guarantees  him  his  place 
and  you  your  rights.  If  you  have  a  griev- 
ance against  him  you  have  an  orderly  re- 
dress, for  he  is  responsible  to  his  bishop, 
as  is  his  bishop  to  the  Pope.  On  the  other 
hand,  you  know  his  rights  and  you  know 
he  has  the  authority  of  the  Church  behind 
him  against  any  invasion  of  them  by  the 
congregation.  This  it  is  that  makes  for 
the  stability  of  our  Catholic  parishes,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  sudden  and  violent 
changes  of  ministers  and  congregations 
among  the  sects.  This  is  why  we  so  often 
see,  even  in  this  new  country,  how,  as  in 
this  Parish  of  St.  James,  the  pastor — I  will 
not  say  grows  old,  for  no  man  would,  even 
from   the   shelter   of   the   pulpit,    dare   to 


Thus  Saith  the  Lord  195 

insinuate  such  an  idea  in  connection  with 
Father  Lynch — but,  as  it  were,  mellows 
and  ripens  with  his  coevals,  beholding  their 
children  whom  he  begot  to  Christ  in  bap- 
tism and,  let  us  pray,  destined  to  see  their 
children's  children  even  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation. 

To  conclude,  let  me  congratulate  you  on 
this  auspicious  day.  Let  me  congratulate 
you.  Father  Lynch,  on  this  magnificent  tes- 
timony to  the  zeal  and  devotion  which 
have  been  the  mainsprings  of  your  pastoral 
career.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  begin  the 
work  of  this  parish  twenty-five  years  ago; 
you  have  been  sorely  tried,  but  you  never 
lost  heart.  Better  even  than  the  two  splen- 
did churches  you  built  has  been  your  latest 
work — the  establishment  of  St.  James' 
School.  Its  halls  crowded  and  over- 
crowded bear  witness  that  your  people 
understand  the  need  of  Christian  education 
for  their  children,  and  when  they  under- 
stand that  need  all  other  things  are  secure. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  sad  thoughts  that 
mingle*  themselves  with  the  joy  of  to-day. 
There  is  many  a  familiar  face  absent  from 
those  pews  and  from  this  sanctuary.     In 


196  Altar  and  Priest 

the  midst  of  our  gladness  we  cannot  help 
at  times  thinking  of  what  might  have  been 
and  sighing 

**for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still." 

But  they  are  with  God,  keeping  the 
eternal  jubilee  of  which  this  is  but  the 
faint  figure.  We  still  remain  to  carry 
on  His  work  in  this  world,  and  let  us  rouse 
the  olden  courage  with  which  it  was  begun, 
and  stir  up  again  the  first  faith  in  which 
this  parish  was  founded,  that — priests  and 
people — ^you  may  hold  watch  and  ward 
around  God's  standard  which  has  been  set 
here  as  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  and 
a  flaming  beacon  to  the  feet  of  the  nations. 


DIGNITY  OF  THE  PRIESTHOOD 


First  Mass  of  the  Rev,  John  J.  Power,  St.  Francis  de 
Sales    Church,  Oakland,  Cal,  Sunda}),  June  27,  1909. 


DIGNITY  OF  THE  PRIESTHOOD 

It  is  written  in  the  Old  Law  that  the  tribe 
of  Levi  received  no  share  in  the  Promised 
Land  when  it  was  divided  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel.  The  priests  and  Levites,  says 
Moses,  shall  have  no  share  nor  part  in  the 
inheritance  with  the  rest  of  Israel,  because 
the  Lord  Himself  is  their  lot  and  their  in- 
heritance. Therefore  they  lived  in  cities, 
scattered  through  the  tribes,  ministering  to 
the  people,  subsisting  on  the  offerings  at  the 
altar;  in  the  country,  not  yet  of  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  the  Lord :  ^^Number  not 
the  tribe  of  Levi,  neither  shalt  thou  put 
down  the  sum  of  them  with  the  children  of 
Israel." 

In  like  manner  our  Lord  bade  His  dis- 
ciples to  be  in  the  world,  but  not  of  the 
world.  He  commanded  them  to  leave  all 
things  and  to  follow  Him.  He  even  said: 
^^He  that  loveth  father  and  mother  more 
than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me,  and  he  that 
loveth  son  and  daughter  more  than  Me  is 
not  worthy  of  Me."  The  Christian  priest 
is,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech, 


200  Altar  and  Priest 

of  whom  it  is  written  that  ^^he  was  without 
father  or  mother,  without  genealogy,  having 
neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life.'' 

In  preparation  for  this  ministry  of  lone- 
liness the  Church  deals  with  her  children 
even  as  Anna  did  with  Samuel.  She  had 
promised  in  her  humiliation :  ^^If  Thou,  O 
Lord,  will  grant  to  Thy  servant  a  man  child, 
I  will  give  him  to  the  Lord  all  the  days  of 
his  life."  When  the  child  was  born  and 
was  yet  very  young  she  brought  him  to  the 
house  of  the  Lord  in  Silo,  and  Samuel  min- 
istered before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
slept  in  the  tabernacle,  where  the  Ark  of 
God  was,  and  learned  to  know  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  speaking  in  the  watches  of  the 
night. 

So  the  Church  takes  the  candidates  for 
her  ministry  from  their  homes,  from  their 
father  and  mother,  from  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, from  friends  and  companions,  and 
brings  them  into  a  place  apart,  where  for 
many  long  years  she  trains  them  to  serve 
in  the  sanctuary,  and  teaches  them  the  mys- 
teries of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  proves 
them  by  many  a  test  that  they  are  able  to 
walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  in  which  they 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood  201 

are  called  before  she  sends  them  out  into  the 
world  to  labor  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  when  the  long  prep- 
aration is  over,  and  the  young  candidate  re- 
turns with  the  oil  of  gladness  still  shining 
on  his  hands,  that  it  is  a  great  day  among  his 
people  as  for  the  first  time  he  stands  at  the 
altar  and  offers  up  the  august  sacrifice  of 
the  New  Law.  It  is  a  pious  and  worthy 
custom  that  his  friends  and  acquaintances 
should  gather  about  him  to  congratulate 
him  that  the  long  preparation  is  over,  that 
every  test  has  been  successfully  passed.  It 
is  a  Christian  instinct  that  bids  them  to 
join  their  prayers  to  his  that  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  may  ever  go  before  him  in  the 
paths  of  righteousness,  and  that  the  armor 
of  the  Lord  may  ever  be  girt  about  him — 
the  shield  of  faith,  the  helmet  of  salvation 
and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  which  is  the 
word  of  God. 

There  is  a  great  and  wonderful  differ- 
ence between  the  homecoming  of  the  young 
priest  and  the  homecoming  of  other  young 
men,  who  in  the  pursuit  of  their  calling 


202  Altar  and  Priest 

have  had  to  undergo  a  long  and  difficult 
discipline.  The  young  lawyer  or  doctor 
or  soldier  comes  back  and  is  gladly  wel- 
comed, and  takes  his  old  place  quite  nat- 
urally in  the  circle  of  his  kinsfolk  and 
acquaintance.  The  young  priest  returns,  but 
he  is  never  the  same  again  to  his  contem- 
poraries who  played  with  him;  to  his 
father  who  guided  him — no,  not  even  to 
the  mother  who  nourished  him  at  the 
breasts.  With  all  the  joy  there  is  a  sense 
of  holy  fear;  with  all  the  love  there  is 
present  a  sacred  reverence,  and  instead  of 
the  natural  order  of  parents  bestowing  their 
blessing  upon  the  child,  it  is  the  child  that 
blesses  and  it  is  they  that  kiss  his  consecrated 
hands. 

What  is  the  reason  of  this  strange  intro- 
version of  the  order  of  nature?  It  is  be- 
cause in  assuming  the  priesthood  he  has 
received  a  supernatural  character  and  the 
man  is  lost  in  the  priest.  It  is  the  priest 
that  is  honored,  it  is  the  priest  that  is  rever- 
enced, it  is  before  the  priest  that  even  the 
aged  bow  according  to  the  saying  of  the 
Apostle:  ^^Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth, 
but  be  thou  an  example  to  the  faithful." 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         203 

The  Christian  priesthood  differs  essen- 
tially from  the  priesthood  of  the  Old  Law 
and  from  the  ministry  of  the  various  sects. 
The  priesthood  in  the  Old  Law  descended 
from  father  to  son.  It  was  an  inheritance 
in  the  tribe  of  Levi  and  in  the  family  of 
Aaron.  Therefore  ^^there  were  many 
priests/'  as  St.  Paul  says,  ^^because  by  rea- 
son of  death  they  were  not  suffered  to 
continue." 

The  Protestant  sects  reject  all  idea  of  a 
true  priesthood.  To  them  the  minister  is 
the  hired  servant  of  the  congregation.  He 
may  have  great  talents  and  be  able  to  com- 
mand a  large  salary,  but  to  his  people  he  is 
merely  an  employee^  the  same  as  the  artist 
that  plays  the  organ  or  the  sexton  that  rings 
the  bell. 

The  Catholic  Church  teaches  that  with 
the  Old  Law  the  Levitical  priesthood  passed 
away.  The  priest  and  the  sacrifice  go  to- 
gether, and  when  the  altar  ceased  to  smoke 
in  the  temple  court,  the  sons  of  Aaron  ceased 
to  be  priests.  Their  priesthood  was  the  type 
and  figure  of  the  priesthood  of  our  Lord, 
even  as  their  sacrifices  were  the  type  and 
figure  of  the  sacrifice  that  was  consummated 


204  Altar  and  Priest 

on  Calvary.  Now,  of  Christ,  God  had  said 
with  an  oath :  ^^The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and 
He  will  not  repent:  Thou  art  a  priest  for- 
ever." Our  Lord  therefore  has  an  everlast- 
ing priesthood,  and,  if  an  everlasting  priest- 
hood, he  must  have  an  eternal  sacrifice. 
That  sacrifice  is  not  the  offering  of  the  blood 
of  goats  or  oxen  in  an  earthly  temple  and  on 
an  earthly  altar,  but  it  is  the  offering  of  His 
own  blood  in  a  tabernacle  not  made  by 
hands,  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  heaven  itself, 
and  on  the  sublime  altar  that  ever  stands  in 
the  sight  of  the  majesty  of  God. 

In  the  New  Testament,  then,  there  is  only 
one  priest  and  only  one  sacrifice.  That 
priest  is  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  and  that 
sacrifice  is  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  which 
was  offered  once  to  exhaust  the  sins  of 
many.  But  it  is  also  written  in  the  Scrip- 
ture that  Christ  is  a  priest  forever,  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  Melchisedech.  Now, 
Melchisedech  was  king  of  Salem  and  priest 
of  the  Most  High  God  who  met  Abraham 
and  blessed  him  and  offered  up  a  sacrifice 
in  bread  and  wine.  The  bloody  sacrifices 
of  the  priesthood  of  Levi,  the  offerings  of 
sheep    and    goats    and    oxen,    typified    the 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         205 

bloody  death  of  Christ  upon  the  Cross;  the 
unbloody  sacrifice  of  Melchisedech  typifies 
the  clean  oblation  concerning  which  the 
Prophet  Malachi  also  spoke: 

"From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto 
the  going  down  of  the  same  my  Name  is 
great  among  the  Gentiles,  and  in  every  place 
there  is  sacrifice  and  there  is  offered  to  My 
name  a  clean  oblation,  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts.'' 

For  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be 
sacrifice  everywhere.  Men  are  commanded 
by  God  to  worship  Him.  The  essential  ele- 
ments of  worship  are  prayer  and  sacrifice. 
We  do  not  worship  God  by  prayer  alone, 
but  by  prayer  and  sacrifice.  Man  also  is 
composed  of  body  and  soul,  not  of  soul 
alone,  but  of  body  and  soul.  Therefore  his 
worship  must  be  a  sensible  and  external 
worship  as  well  as  an  interior  and  spiritual 
worship.  He  must  not  only  pray  in  his 
heart,  but  he  must  express  his  prayer  in 
words.  His  sacrifice  must  not  only  be  car- 
ried by  the  hands  of  angels  to  the  altar  on 
high,  but  it  must  lie  slain  before  the  eyes  of 
men  on  earth. 


2o6  Altar  and  Priest 

Now,  the  one  sacrifice  of  the  Christian 
dispensation  is  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
Christ  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God's 
majesty,  offering  that  one  sacrifice  for  sin. 
What  human  eye  is  there  so  keen  as  to 
pierce  the  uncreated  glory,  and  behold  the 
print  of  the  nails;  what  human  hand  so 
hardy  as  to  dare  to  reach  out  and  touch  that 
wounded  side? 

It  is  evident  therefore  that  the  death  of 
Christ  must  be  shown  to  men  if  we  are  to 
have  a  sacrifice  at  all.  And  we  read  in  the 
first  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians : 

^^I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  He  was  be- 
trayed, took  bread,  and,  giving  thanks, 
brake,  and  said:  ^Take  ye,  and  eat:  this  is 
My  body,  which  shall  be  delivered  for  you : 
this  do  ye  for  the  commemoration  of  Me.' 
In  like  manner,  also,  the  chalice,  after  He 
had  supped,  saying:  This  chalice  is  the 
New  Testament  in  My  blood:  this  do  ye, 
as  often  as  ye  shall  drink,  for  the  commem- 
oration of  Me.  For  as  often  as  ye  shall  eat 
this  bread,  and  drink  the  chalice,  ye  shall 
shew  the  death  of  the  Lord,  until  He 
come.'  " 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         207 

This,  then,  is  the  divine  plan  by  which 
the  death  of  Christ,  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
Cross,  is  to  be  perpetuated  among  men.  The 
Apostles  were  then  and  there  constituted 
priests  after  the  order  of  Melchisedech. 
They  were  then  and  there  constituted 
priests,  not  like  the  priests  of  Aaron,  each 
offering  a  sacrifice  of  his  own.  They  were 
constituted  priests  by  being  indued  with 
the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ,  doing  what 
He  did,  changing  bread  into  the  body  that 
was  broken  for  us  and  changing  .wine  into 
the  blood  that  was  poured  out  for  us,  and 
thus  really  offering  in  an  unbloody  man- 
ner the  same  sacrifice  that  He  offered  on 
the  cross. 

Since  our  Lord  ordered  that  the  sacrifice 
of  His  death  should  be  shown  to  men  until 
His  second  coming,  it  was  necessary  that  the 
Apostles  should  hand  on  the  power  that  was 
given  them.  By  the  Sacrament  of  Holy 
Orders  they  provided  not  only  for  the  due 
government  of  the  Church,  but  for  the  per- 
petuation of  the  sacrifice.  To  some  they 
give  the  power  of  the  priesthood  in  its  full- 
ness, that  is,  with  the  faculty  of  creating 
other  priests,  and  these  we  call  bishops;   to 


2o8  Altar  and  Priest 

others  they  give  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
without  this  privilege,  and  these  we  call 
simply  priests.  But  in  priest  and  in  bishop 
the  power  of  sacrifice  is  the  same,  and  it  is 
the  same  Mass  that  is  offered  up  by  the 
humble  missionary  in  the  log  hut  under  the 
great  pines  of  some  northern  wilderness  as 
is  offered  up  under  the  great  dome  of  St. 
Peter's  when  the  Pope  himself  stands  at  the 
altar  and  the  silver  trumpets  sound. 

This,  jthen,  is  the  secret  of  the  dignity  of 
the  Christian  priest.  He  is  indued  with  the 
priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself  and  holy 
men  have  not  hesitated  to  say:  ^^Sacerdos 
alter  Christus" — The  priest  is  another 
Christ. 

His  dignity  does  not  arise  from  the  nobil- 
ity of  his  birth,  or  from  the  fame  of  his 
name.  His  dignity  does  not  arise  from  his 
natural  talents  or  from  his  acquired  learn- 
ing. His  dignity  does  not  arise  from  the 
church  in  which  he  ministers  or  the  con- 
gregation that  he  serves.  His  dignity  does 
not  arise  from  his  eloquence,  though  it  is 
his  duty  to  preach  the  word  of  God  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season.  His  dignity  does  not 
arise  from  the  power  to  regenerate  the  chil- 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         209 

dren  of  God  in  the  waters  of  baptism,  for 
even  the  heathen  may  use  that  power.  His 
dignity  does  not  arise  from  the  jurisdiction 
he  exercises  in  the  tribunal  of  penance  over 
the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  for  a  priest  may 
go  through  life  without  hearing  a  single 
confession.  His  dignity  does  not  arise  from 
the  long  history  and  splendid  services  of  the 
order  into  which  he  ha«  been  incorporated. 
It  is  true  he  may  look  back  for  twenty  cen- 
turies and  behold  the  Christian  priesthood 
march  like  the  sons  of  Levi  at  the  head  of 
the  Christian  host  carrying  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant.  He  may  see  their  fame  recorded 
in  every  department  of  human  endeavor.  In 
search  of  souls  they  have  explored  the  track- 
less forests  and  navigated  unknown  rivers. 
To  carry  the  word  they  have  gone  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  and  opened  up  new  nations 
to  science.  They  have  descended  into  the 
dark  places  of  great  cities  to  bind  the 
wounds  of  the  broken  in  spirit,  to  lift  up 
the  fallen,  to  visit  them  that  are  sick  and  in 
prison,  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  give  drink  to 
the  thirsty,  to  clothe  the  naked,  to  harbor 
the  harborless,  and  to  bury  the  dead.  They 
have  braved  the  plague  in  tropic  jungles  or 


2IO  Altar  and  Priest 

in  stricken  towns,  not  with  parade  and  os- 
tentation, but  in  the  pursuit  of  their  ordi- 
nary duty,  and  when  the  time  came  for  them 
they  lay  down  in  simple  dignity  and  died 
amidst  their  flock.  They  have  been  the 
pioneers  of  education,  the  foster  fathers  of 
art,  and  there  is  no  department  of  human 
learning  or  human  science  in  which  their 
names  do  not  shine.  They  have  been  great 
writers,  great  musicians,  great  orators,  aye, 
even  great  statesmen,  and  some  have  not 
borne  the  sword  in  vain.  Yes,  it  is  an  an- 
cient and  honorable  company  into  which  a 
young  priest  is  admitted  at  his  ordination, 
and  henceforth  he  walks  forever  a  brother 
of  the  mighty  dead.  Yet  it  is  not  from  all 
or  from  any  of  these  things  comes  the  dig- 
nity with  which  he  is  crowned;  it  is  not 
because  of  these  things  the  people  reverence 
him  and  his  father's  sons  bow  down  before 
him.  No,  his  dignity  has  only  one  source, 
and  only  one  justification,  namely,  the  stu- 
pendous change  that  was  wrought  in  him 
by  the  imposition  of  hands  and  the  grace 
of  ordination,  when  he  put  on  the  eternal 
priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ  and  stood  before 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         211 

the  world  another  Christ:    '^Sacerdos  alter 
Christus'' — The  priest  is  another  Christ. 

This  is  why  he  did  not  presume  to  take 
this  honor  to  himself,  but  waited  to  be  called 
by  God,  even  as  Aaron  was.  This  is  why 
he  comes  to  you  now,  not  the  nominee  of  a 
congregation,  but  sent  even  as  the  Apostles 
were.  This  is  why  there  is  between  you  and 
him  this  altar  rail,  the  symbol  of  the  ever- 
lasting barrier  raised  between  him  and  the 
world.  That  is  why  he  is  clothed  in  the 
Mass  vestments,  the  white  garment  that 
Christ  wore,  and  the  heavy  cross  that  He 
carried  to  Calvary.  That  is  why  he  stands 
before  you  as  a  leader  of  his  people,  and 
he  only  turns  his  face  to  you  now  and  again, 
as  a  leader  might  turn  to  urge  you  on.  That 
is  why  he  prays  in  an  unknown  tongue  to 
manifest  to  you  that  he,  not  you,  is  the  sacri- 
ficer,  and  that  he,  not  you,  has  power  to 
immolate  the  mystic  victim.  That  is  why, 
with  raised  hands  and  uplifted  voice,  he 
now  prepares  to  enter  the  sanctuary  alone. 
The  solemn  hymn  of  thanksgiving  is,  as  it 
were,  the  preface  for  the  great  mystery  of 
the  holy  of  holies.  He  forgets  the  earth, 
he   boldly   faces   the   gates   of   heaven,  he 


212  Altar  and  Priest 

passes  through  the  serried  ranks  of  angels 
and  archangels,  of  cherubim  and  seraphim, 
of  principalities  and  powers,  of  thrones  and 
dominations,  and  as  the  thunder  of  the  heav- 
enly hymn,  ^^Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord,  God 
of  hosts,"  moves  the  lintels  of  the  temple 
doors,  he  approaches  the  altar  of  the  Lamb, 
and  he  alone  standing  begins  the  solemn 
words  of  consecration.  Behold,  it  is  now 
no  longer  a  man  that  officiates  at  that  altar. 
He  takes  the  bread  and  he  takes  the  wine. 
Over  them  he  speaks  the  words  of  Jesus 
Christ:  'This  is  My  body— this  is  My 
blood.''  The  man  has  passed  away.  It  is 
the  High  Priest  Himself  that  speaks.  'This 
is  My  body — this  is  My  blood."  ''Sacerdos 
alter  Christus" — The  priest  is  another 
Christ. 

What  mortal  man  could  be  worthy  of  so 
great  dignity?  It  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
God's  dealings  with  mankind  that  He  did 
not  commit  this  sublime  office  to  His  holy 
angels,  instead  of  to  sinful  men.  Yet,  as 
Christ  did  not  choose  to  redeem  mankind 
in  the  nature  of  an  angel,  but  in  the  nature 
of  a  man,  so  He  has  ordained  that  His 
priests  should  be  men,  not  angels.     Christ 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood         213 

became  a  man  that  we  might  have  a  high 
priest  who  can  have  compassion  on  our  in- 
firmities, tempted  in  all  things  even  as  we 
are  tempted,  yet  without  sin.  So  He  makes 
men  His  priests  that,  surrounded  as  they  are 
with  weakness,  they  may  have  compassion 
on  them  that  are  ignorant  and  do  err. 

It  is  a  wonderful  dignity,  and  would  that 
we  were  worthy  of  it.  It  is  something  far 
above  the  strength  of  human  nature,  and 
therefore  only  to  be  borne  by  the  abounding 
and  superabounding  grace  of  God.  Catho- 
lics know  this,  and  therefore,  while  to-day 
is  a  day  of  rejoicing,  it  is  a  day  of  earnest 
prayer  and  holy  fear.  Pour  out  your  sup- 
plication for  this  Levite  who,  in  the  glad- 
ness of  his  youth,  for  the  first  time  goes 
unto  the  altar  of  God.  Pray  that  God's 
angels  may  camp  around  him  even  as  they 
camped  around  the  Prophet  Eliseus,  to  pro- 
tect him  against  the  assaults  of  the  enemy. 
Pray  that  his  sacrifice  may  be  acceptable 
like  the  sacrifice  of  Abel  the  Just,  and  rati- 
fied like  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham,  our  Pa- 
triarch, and  holy  like  the  sacrifice  of  the 
High  Priest,  Melchisedech.  Pray  that  his 
ministry  may  bloom  with  virtue  like  the  rod 


214  Altar  and  Priest 

of  Aaron,  and  that  his  long  service  may  be 
found  without  flaw  like  the  service  of 
Samuel.  May  his  heart  be  pure  even  as  the 
heart  of  John,  who  was  worthy  to  lie  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  Lord,  and  may  he  show 
himself,  like  Paul,  a  minister  of  God  in 
much  patience,  aye,  even  if  necessary  in 
tribulation,  in  necessities,  in  distresses,  in 
stripes,  in  prisons,  in  seditions.  May  the 
grace  which  he  has  received  not  in  vain 
manifest  itself  in  labor,  in  fastings,  in 
watchings,  in  chastity,  in  knowledge,  in  long 
suffering,  in  sweetness,  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  charity  unfeigned,  in  the  word  of  truth, 
in  the  power  of  God,  by  the  armor  of  jus- 
tice on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  by 
honor  and  dishonor,  by  evil  report  and  good 
report;  as  deceivers,  and  yet  true;  as  un- 
known, and  yet  known ;  as  dying,  and  behold 
we  live;  as  chastised,  and  not  killed;  as  sor- 
rowful, yet  always  rejoicing;  as  needy,  yet 
enriching  many;  as  having  nothing  and  pos- 
sessing all. 

And,  for  my  part,  dear  Father,  I  bid  you 
welcome  to  your  own  diocese,  and  extend 
to  you  the  congratulations  of  the  priests  in 
whose  number  you  are  enrolled.    I  congrat- 


Dignity  of  the  Priesthood  215 

ulate  your  dear  parents  and  friends,  to 
whom  is  given  the  holy  joy  of  seeing  you 
stand  at  God's  altar.  May  you  be  worthy 
of  them.  And  may  the  grace  of  this  day 
ever  remain  with  you  like  the  lamp  of  God 
in  the  tabernacle,  and  may  it  be  a  light  to 
your  feet  in  that  holy  way  wherein  you 
seek  to  discern  only  the  footsteps  of  the 
Master  whose  burden  you  have  taken  up 
and  whose  yoke  you  must  henceforth  for- 
ever bear. 


THE  ALTAR  OF  GOD 


The  Silver  Jubilee  of  the  Rev.  William  O'Ryan, 
Denver,   Colorado,   Tuesday,   October  4,   1910. 


THE  ALTAR  OF  GOD 

*^I  will  go  unto  the  altar  of  God,  unto 
God  who  gladdeneth  my  youth." — Psalm 
xlii. 

These  words  carry  us  back  to  that  distant 
period  when  the  great  temple  of  Solomon 
still  dominated  Jerusalem.  It  was  the  law 
of  the  Jews  that  only  in  the  holy  city  might 
sacrifice  be  offered.  At  least  once  a  year 
the  tribes  gathered  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  smoke  of  unnumbered  vic- 
tims arose  from  its  courts.  In  times  of  war, 
when  the  enemy  ravaged  the  country  and 
the  roads  were  unsafe,  the  pilgrimages  were 
necessarily  suspended.  To  the  pious  Israel- 
ite it  was  a  daily  heartbreak  to  be  deprived 
of  the  privilege  of  worship  before  the  face 
of  God,  whose  presence  was  made  manifest 
in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  He  likens  himself 
to  the  deer  in  the  desert  panting  for  thirst: 

*^As  the  stag  panteth  after  the  water 
brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  my 
God.  My  soul  hath  thirsted  after  God,  the 
living  and  strong.  When  shall  I  come  and 
appear  before  the  face  of  God?" 


220  Altar  and  Priest 

But  absence  from  Jerusalem  was  not  his 
only  grief.  He  lived  in  the  north  of  the 
Holy  Land,  on  the  shoulders  of  Hermon, 
in  the  midst  of  a  heathen  population,  who 
mocked  him  and  his  religion.  In  his  an- 
guish he  cries  out: 

"My  tears  have  been  my  bread  day  and 
night,  whilst  it  is  said  to  me  daily,  Where 
is  thy  God?'  " 

Still  his  faith  does  not  waver;  he  knows 
that  in  the  hands  of  God  are  all  things  good 
and  evil.  He  boldly  appeals  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Most  High  and  rests  his  trust 
upon  the  God  of  Israel. 

"Judge  me,  O  God,  and  plead  my  cause 
against  an  ungodly  nation :  from  the  unjust 
and  deceitful  man  deliver  me.  For  Thou, 
O  God,  art  my  strength.  Why  hast  Thou 
cast  me  oflf?  and  why  do  I  go  sorrowful 
while  the  enemy  afflicteth  me?" 

At  last  his  faith  is  rewarded.  The  war 
clouds  roll  away.  The  armed  bands  with- 
draw, and  the  roads  are  open  once  more. 
The  great  caravans  of  pilgrims  stream 
south  to  Jerusalem.  As  they  toil  up  the 
steep  ascent  to  Sion,  the  pinnacles  of  the 


The  Altar  of  God  221 

temple  suddenly  break  on  his  view.  His 
heart  is  filled  with  thanksgiving,  and  his 
lips  burst  forth  in  song  to  Him  who  dwells 
between  the  cherubim. 

''Send  out  Thy  light  and  Thy  truth ;  they 
have  led  me  and  brought  me  unto  Thy  holy 
hill  and  unto  Thy  tabernacles,  and  I  will 
go  unto  the  altar  of  God,  unto  God  who 
gladdeneth  my  youth." 

These  are  the  words  that  Holy  Church 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  her  priests  as,  at  the 
foot  of  the  altar,  they  begin  that  solemn 
rite  of  which  the  temple  and  its  sacrifices 
were  but  a  weak  and  ineffectual  figure. 
"We  too  have  an  altar,"  says  St.  Paul, 
''whereof  they  have  no  power  to  eat  that 
serve  the  tabernacle."  The  blood  that  sanc- 
tifies that  altar  is  no  longer  the  blood  of 
sheep  and  oxen,  but  the  very  blood  of 
Christ.  The  sacrifice  that  is  offered  thereon 
is  the  same  sacrifice  that  was  consummated 
on  Calvary.  Far  holier  than  the  ancient 
sanctuary  which  the  high  priest  entered  only 
once  a  year  is  this  holy  place  of  ours.  There- 
fore, conscious  of  his  frequent  infirmities, 
the  Catholic  priest  approaches  it  in  fear 
and  trembling,  crying:    ''Judge  me,  O  God, 


222  Altar  and  Priest 

and  plead  my  cause."  Yet,  at  the  same  time, 
he  remembers  that  it  is  not  in  his  own  per- 
son he  approaches,  but  in  the  person  of  his 
Master,  and,  realizing  with  what  manner 
of  power  he  is  surrounded  and  by  what 
arms  he  is  upheld,  he  goes  in  with  confi- 
dence and  sober  joy:  ^^I  will  go  unto 
the  altar  of  God,  even  unto  God  who 
gladdeneth  my  youth." 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Father  O'Ryan 
was  given  the  privilege  of  saying  these 
words  freighted  with  such  holy  associations. 
Twenty-five  years  ago,  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he 
was  constituted  a  priest  forever  according 
to  the  order  of  Melchisedech.  On  his  neck 
was  laid  the  stole,  the  emblem  of  the  yoke 
of  Christ,  whose  yoke  is  sweet  and  whose 
burden  is  light.  With  the  holy  oils  his 
hands  were  anointed  that,  blessing,  he  might 
henceforth  bless,  and,  consecrating,  he 
might  consecrate  and  sanctify.  To  him  was 
committed  the  chalice  of  benediction,  and 
with  it  the  power  to  offer  sacrifice  both  for 
the  living  and  the  dead.  Around  him  was 
cast  the  chasuble  of  charity  that,  clothed  in 
love,  he  might  exercise  the  power  not  given 


The  Altar  of  God  223 

to  angels.  ^^Whose  sins  ye  shall  forgive 
they  are  forgiven  them;  whose  sins  ye 
shall  retain  they  are  retained."  All  these 
thoughts,  after  a  lapse  of  twenty-five  years, 
pour  in  upon  his  heart,  and,  meditating 
upon  them,  the  words  of  David  spring  to 
his  lips: 

^'What  shall  I  return  to  the  Lord  for  all 
the  things  He  hath  returned  unto  me?  I 
will  take  the  chalice  of  salvation,  I  will  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  I  will  go  unto 
the  altar  of  God,  unto  God  who  rejoiceth 
my  youth." 

That  is  the  reason  why  we  mark  this  anni- 
versary principally  by  the  celebration  of 
Holy  Mass.  The  priest  has  many  relations 
towards  the  people  among  whom  he  lives. 
It  is  particularly  true  of  Father  O'Ryan 
that  he  never  shirked  the  many-sided  activi- 
ties of  his  office.  A  citizen  of  no  mean  city, 
he  has  taken  a  man's  share  in  the  public  life 
of  this  community,  and  no  movement  for 
the  betterment  of  civic  conditions  has  ap- 
pealed to  him  in  vain.  His  ripe  and  varied 
scholarship  has  always  been  at  the  service 
of    the    many    institutions    of    learning   of 


224  Altar  and  Priest 

which  Colorado  is  with  good  reason  proud. 
His  reputation  as  a  public  speaker  and  lec- 
turer extends  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
state.  As  a  pastor  he  has  held  and  holds  his 
people  in  his  heart,  and  their  souls  have 
been  linked  to  his  by  bands  stronger  than 
the  cords  of  Adam — than  adamantine 
chains.  As  administrator  of  the  temporali- 
ties of  the  parish,  his  zeal  and  ability  have 
been  equaled  only  by  his  self-sacrifice  and 
success.  As  the  representative  of  the  King 
who  came  on  earth  to  live  the  poor  man's 
life,  he  has  always  seen  in  the  countenance 
of  the  destitute  the  lineaments  of  his  Master, 
and  his  hand  has  been  open  to  the  needy 
even  when  he  had  nothing  to  spend  upon 
himself. 

But  it  is  not  as  citizen  or  scholar  or 
speaker  that  we  honor  him  now.  It  is  not 
even  as  ruler  and  shepherd  of  his  flock,  as 
friend  of  the  poor  or  comforter  of  the  fallen, 
that  we  consider  him  here.  The  day  he 
keeps  is  the  day  of  his  ordination,  and  it  is 
as  a  priest  he  celebrates  it.  ^^I  will  go  unto 
the  altar  of  God,  even  unto  God  who  glad- 
deneth  my  youth." 

That  the  Catholic  priest  possesses  some 


The  Altar  of  God  225 

power  that  is  not  held  by  the  ministers  of 
other  religions,  is  felt  even  by  those  who 
are  not  of  the  faith.  That  power  does  not 
consist  in  his  birth,  in  his  talents,  in  his  edu- 
cation, in  his  position,  for  it  is  found  in 
every  priest,  whether  he  be  gentle  or  simple, 
whether  he  ministers  at  some  great  cathe- 
dral altar  or  in  the  rude  simplicity  of  a 
mountain  shrine.  To  find  the  origin  of  that 
power  we  must  go  back  to  the  origin  of 
religion  itself,  for  the  priesthood  lies  at  the 
very  roots  of  things,  and  is  implicated  in  the 
essential  relations  of  God  and  man. 

The  meaning  of  religion  is  not  the  bond 
which  binds  man  to  man,  but  the  bond 
which  binds  man  to  God.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  in  our  day  the  word  religion  has  taken 
on  a  hazy  signification  in  which  the  idea  of 
God  is  entirely  obscured.  ^'I  do  no  one  any 
wrong;  I  don't  steal  or  lie  or  murder.  I 
give  every  man  a  square  deal — that  is  my  re- 
ligion," says  the  twentieth  century,  ^^and  as 
for  God,  He  can  take  care  of  Himself." 
But  in  the  beginning  it  was  not  so,  and  it 
shall  not  be  so  in  the  end. 

In  spite  of  the  twentieth  century,  God  is 
the  most  important  thing  in  the  world,  and 


226  Altar  and  Priest 

the  most  important  relation  of  man  is  not  to 
his  fellow  man,  but  to  his  Creator.  Try  as 
we  may,  we  cannot  put  God  out  of  the 
scheme  of  things.  Men  have  extinguished 
the  stars  that  show  forth  His  glory,  only  to 
feel  the  earth  rock  beneath  their  feet  to 
manifest  His  power  and  to  hear  the  floods 
lift  up  their  voice  in  their  streets  to  pro- 
claim His  wrath. 

^^Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  spirit  and 
whither  shall  I  flee  from  Thy  face?  If  I 
ascend  unto  the  heaven.  Thou  art  there!  If 
I  descend  into  hell.  Thou  art  present!  Yea, 
though  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and 
fly  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even 
there  also  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me ;  and  Thy 
right  hand  shall  hold  me.  And  I  said  per- 
haps darkness  shall  cover  me  and  night  shall 
be  my  light  in  my  pleasure,  but  darkness 
shall  not  be  dark  unto  Thee,  and  night  shall 
be  light  as  the  day." 

It  may  shock  twentieth  century  religion- 
ists to  be  told  that  the  first  duty  of  man 
toward  God  is  adoration.  ^^The  Lord,  thy 
God,  thou  shalt  adore,  and  Him  only  shalt 
thou  serve."  We  talk  much  of  progress  and 
achievement,  of  the  earth  subdued  and  the 
air  conquered.    We  look  upon  lands  flowing 


The  Altar  of  God  zzj 

with  milk  and  honey,  and  on  cities  robed  in 
purple  and  crowned  with  light.  We  behold 
innumerable  multitudes  enjoying  peace  and 
prosperity  beneath  many  a  vine  and  fig  tree. 
We  see  merchants  who  are  princes  and  cap- 
tains of  industry  who  are  kings.  Above  all, 
we  see  science  preserving  the  past  and  prom- 
ising greater  triumphs  for  the  present.  And 
as  we  look  we  are  dazzled  by  the  sight,  and 
hardly  realize  the  voice  in  our  ears:  ^^All 
this  will  I  give  thee  if  thou  fall  down  and 
adore  me."  Not  till  we  recognize  the 
words  of  our  Saviour  do  we  wake  from  our 
trance,  and  know  we  are  on  the  mount  of 
temptation : 

^*Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  for  it  is  writ- 
ten :  the  Lord  thy  God  thou  shalt  adore  and 
Him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 

From  the  beginning  men  have  performed 
this  duty  to  God  in  two  ways — by  prayer 
and  sacrifice.  As  far  back  as  we  can  go  in 
human  history  we  see  supplicating  arms 
lifted  up  to  heaven,  and  as  widely  as  we 
may  range  the  world  to-day  we  can  discover 
no  nation  where  in  some  form  the  heart  is 
not  lifted  up  to  the  Father  of  light  to  wor- 


228  Altar  and  Priest 

ship,  to  praise,  to  bless  and  to  petition.  Nay, 
I  might  say  there  is  no  individual,  no  matter 
how  materialistic,  no  matter  how  steeped  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  senses,  no  matter  how 
intent  on  the  gains  or  the  ambitions  of  the 
world,  no  matter  how  he  has  barred  and 
bolted  his  soul  against  the  influences  of  reli- 
gion— there  is  no  one,  I  say,  who,  at  some 
crisis  of  his  life,  under  the  stress  of  some 
impending  danger,  in  the  desolation  of 
some  cruel  loss,  will  not  feel  bolt  and  bar 
dissolve  as  at  the  touch  of  an  angel's  hand, 
and  his  soul  find  relief  in  the  heartbroken 
cry  of  David:  ^^Have  mercy  on  me,  O 
God,  according  to  Thy  great  mercy!" 

There  is  another  aspect  of  God  that  from 
the  beginning  has  compelled  the  worship  of 
God,  and  that  is,  He  is  Lord  of  life  and 
death.  We  may  boast  of  the  achievements 
of  science,  how  we  have  conquered  disease, 
relieved  pain,  lengthened  life,  but  still  men 
die.  Of  old  time  the  gladiators  in  the 
Roman  arena  before  the  games  began 
marched  in  procession  before  the  emperor, 
crying,  ^^Morituri  salutamus!" — ^We  who 
are  to  die  salute  thee!"  Since  the  days  of 
Adam  the  human  race  has  marched  before 


The  Altar  of  God  229 

the  throne  of  God  singing,  ^^Morituri  salut- 
amus!"  and  we  still  march,  and  our  chil- 
dren's children  shall  march  till  the  earth 
shall  reel  drunken  into  judgment,  and  the 
heavens  and  the  hosts  of  heaven  shall  for- 
ever pass  away. 

It  was  to  recognize  this  aspect  of  God — 
the  Master  of  life  and  death — that  men  de- 
vised the  rite  of  sacrifice.  It  was  an  object 
lesson,  an  acknowledgment  that  from  His 
hands  we  received  our  life,  and  that  unto 
His  hands  we  must  return  it.  They  took 
one  of  God's  lesser  gifts;  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  a  lamb  of  the  flock,  and  by  destroying 
it  they  gave  it  back  to  Him  in  figure.  As 
in  the  case  of  prayer,  so  in  the  case  of  sacri- 
fice, we  find  the  practice  universal  both  in 
time  and  space.  All  through  the  Bible  we 
read  of  altars  heaped  high  with  the  increase 
of  the  fields,  and  fires  fed  with  the  fatlings 
of  the  herd.  In  Greece  and  Rome  marble 
temples  ever  smoked  with  sacrifices,  and  in 
the  uncultured  north  like  rites  were  per- 
formed in  more  majestic  forest  fanes  not 
made  by  hands.  Even  in  this  new  land  the 
pioneers  were  met  with  the  universal  ob- 
servance of  sacrifice,  and  to  this  very  day 


230  Altar  and  Priest 

the  traveler  may  behold  the  Aztec  pyramids 
on  whose  summits  the  altars  of  idolatry 
were  profaned  by  human  blood. 

As  death  is  the  wages  of  sin — for  St. 
Paul  said  that  through  one  man  sin  entered 
into  this  world  and  through  sin  death — so 
the  rite  of  sacrifice  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  remission  of  sin. 

God  had  promised  in  the  primeval  curse 
that  He  would  send  a  Saviour  to  make 
atonement,  and  sacrifice  was  a  perpetual 
reminder  that  the  price  of  the  atonement 
was  to  be  His  blood.  Lest  the  rite  should 
degenerate  among  His  own  people,  as  it 
did  degenerate  among  the  lesser  breeds  to  a 
worship  of  devils,  He  surrounded  it  with 
many  restrictions.  At  first  any  man  might 
offer  sacrifice;  then  it  was  confined  to  the 
fathers  of  families ;  then  to  the  tribe  of  Levi 
and  the  line  of  Aaron,  and  at  last  to  the 
precincts  of  the  temple  in  Jerusalem.  By 
these  means  the  people  were  continually 
reminded  that  the  sacrifice  of  sheep  and 
oxen  and  the  blood  of  lambs  and  goats  were 
in  themselves  efficacious  only  inasmuch  as 
they  prophesied  the  one  great  sacrifice  to 
come.    There  was  to  be  one  blood  shedding, 


The  Altar  of  God  231 

and  only  one,  that  would  balance  and  over- 
balance the  world  and  the  souls  of  men. 
That  blood  shedding  was  accomplished 
when  Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and  true  Man, 
ascended  the  altar  of  the  cross  and  poured 
forth  the  last  drop  of  His  sacred  blood  that 
full  reparation  might  be  made  for  the  sin 
of  Adam,  and  full  atonement  for  all  the 
sins  with  which  the  sons  of  Adam  have  bur- 
dened this  sinful  earth. 

It  is  evident  that  with  the  death  of  Christ 
all  other  sacrifices  ceased.  They  were 
types  and  figures  of  His  great  offering,  and 
now  the  needs  of  types  and  figures  forever 
passed  away.  But  the  need  of  the  rite  of 
sacrifice  still  remained.  Men  still  con- 
tinued that  sad  procession  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave.  They  still  needed  to  acknowl- 
edge God  as  the  Master  of  life  and  death. 
It  is  true  that  Christ  had  triumphed  over 
death,  and  robbed  the  grave  of  its  terrors, 
but  it  was  needed  that  the  fruits  of  his  vic- 
tory should  be  applied  to  the  individual 
soul.  Therefore  at  His  last  supper  He  insti- 
tuted the  Christian  sacrifice.  He  took  bread 
into  His  hands,  and,  giving  thanks,  blessed 
and  brake  and  gave  to  His  disciples,  say- 


232  Altar  and  Priest 

ing:  ^Take  ye  and  eat,  for  this  is  My 
body  which  shall  be  broken  for  you." 
Likewise  He  took  the  chalice,  saying: 
^^Drink  ye  all  of  this,  for  this  is  My  blood — 
the  blood  of  the  new  covenant  which  shall 
be  poured  out  for  you  and  for  many  unto 
the  remission  of  sins."  Then,  commanding 
His  Apostles,  He  added:  ^This  do  ye  for 
a  memorial  of  Me.  For  as  often  as  ye 
shall  eat  this  bread  and  drink  the  chalice, 
ye  shall  show  forth  the  death  of  the  Lord 
until  He  come." 

The  death  of  the  Lord  was  the  Christian 
sacrifice  offered  in  blood  on  Mount  Cal- 
vary once  for  all.  The  showing  forth  of 
the  death  of  the  Lord  in  the  consecration 
of  the  bread  and  wine  by  the  Apostles  and 
their  successors  is  the  same  Christian  sacri- 
fice offered  in  an  unbloody  manner  upon 
every  altar  in  the  Christian  Church,  where 
by  virtue  of  the  power  given  in  the  supper 
room  the  priest  changes  bread  into  Christ's 
body  and  wine  into  His  blood. 

Now,  the  nature  of  sacrifice  is  such  that 
three  things  are  necessary  to  it,  namely,  the 
thing  offered,  or  the  victim,  the  person 
offering,  or  the  priest,  and  the  place  where 


The  Altar  of  God  233 

it  is  oflfered,  or  the  altar.  Priest,  victim  and 
altar  go  together,  and  therefore  when  St. 
Paul  says  that  the  early  Christian  had  an 
altar  he  implies  that  they  had  also  a  victim 
and  a  priest. 

In  the  sacrifice  of  the  Cross  Christ  was 
both  priest  and  victim.  He,  the  great  High 
Priest,  offered  Himself,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  took  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  Hence, 
as  we  have  now  only  one  sacrifice,  so  we 
have  only  one  priest.  When  Christ,  there- 
fore, at  the  last  supper  ordered  His  Apostles 
to  offer  His  sacrifice.  He  necessarily  consti- 
tuted them  priests.  But  He  did  not  make 
them  priests  as  were  the  priests  of  Aaron, 
each  for  himself.  He  made  them  priests 
by  induing  them  with  His  own  eternal 
priesthood,  so  that  they  should  do  what  He 
ordered  them  to  do  in  His  name  and  by  His 
power.  He  gave  them  a  dignity  such  as  He 
had  not  conferred  on  men  since  the  world 
began.  He  made  them,  as  it  were,  replica- 
tions of  His  own  personality.  When  they 
stood  at  the  altar  it  was  no  longer  Peter  or 
James  or  John  that  spoke;  it  was  Jesus 
Christ  Himself:  ^This  is  My  body;  this  is 
My  blood." 


234  Altar  and  Priest 

Such  is  the  wondrous  dignity  that  through 
two  thousand  years  has  been  handed  down 
in  the  Catholic  Church.  Such  are  the  pow- 
ers that  Christ  has  chosen  to  confer  on  men, 
sinful  as  they  are  and  girt  around  about 
with  weakness.  Such  is  the  secret  that 
makes  even  those  outside  the  Church  regard 
the  priest  as  a  man  set  apart  from  all  other 
clergymen.  Such  is  the  reason  why  Catho- 
lics show  such  reverence  and  respect  for 
the  priestly  character,  for  it  is  not  the  man 
they  revere  or  his  gifts  or  achievements; 
it  is  that  they  see  in  him  the  likeness  of  Him 
who  is  invisible  as  he  stands  at  the  altar  re- 
peating the  words  of  Christ,  ^^Sacerdos  alter 
Christus" — The  priest  is  another  Christ. 

This,  then  is  the  significance  of  our 
celebration  to-day.  Twenty-five  years  ago 
Father  O'Ryan  was  ordained  to  serve  at  the 
altar  and  to  bear  the  person  of  Christ.  He 
was  given  power  to  offer  a  true  sacrifice, 
which  avails  for  the  living  and  the  dead. 
He  was  made  a  real  priest,  and,  behold, 
unto  what  a  goodly  company  he  entered! 
How  far  back  his  noble  lineage  extends! 
He  is  the  heir  of  Abel  the  Just,  and  sharer 
of  the  sweet  savor  that  first  rose  to  heaven 


The  Altar  of  God  235 

on  the  plain  eastward  from  Eden.  He  is 
partaker  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  King  of 
Salem,  Melchisedech,  who  offered  for 
Abraham  the  prophetic  elements  of  bread 
and  wine.  He  too  stands  with  the  Friend 
of  God  on  Mount  Moriah,  when,  hoping 
against  hope,  the  Patriarch  raised  his  knife 
to  slay  his  only  begotten  son.  He  is  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi;  he  is  of  the  line  of  Aaron, 
and  his  fellowship  is  with  the  priestly 
courses  as  they  go  in  turn  to  offer  the  daily 
sacrifices  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Nay, 
more  is  he  the  son  of  prophecy,  the  burden 
of  the  swan  song  of  Malachias,  for  in  him 
is  fulfilled  the  prediction: 

**From  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going 
down  of  the  same  My  name  is  great  among 
the  Gentiles,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and 
in  every  place  there  is  sacrifice,  and  there 
is  offered  in  My  name  a  clean  ol3lation,  for 
My  name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles,  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

The  clean  oblation  that  the  prophet  de- 
clared should  be  offered  among  the  Gentiles 
is  the  unbloody  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  In 
the  sixteenth  century  those  who  went  out 
from  the  Catholic  Church  rejected  the  Mass 


236  Altar  and  Priest 

and  the  idea  of  sacrifice.  They  said  that 
men  no  longer  required  that  ancient  rite, 
and  that  it  was  sufficient  for  them  to  meet 
for  public  prayer.  They  rejected  the  name 
of  priest  and  called  their  clergymen  minis- 
ters, and  boasted  that  they  had  destroyed 
superstition  and  restored  the  purity  of  God's 
word.  But  it  is  hard  to  fight  against  human 
nature  and  prophecy.  The  prophet  had  de- 
clared that  there  was  to  be  a  perpetual  sacri- 
fice among  the  nations,  and  men  who  had 
craved  sacrifice  from  the  beginning  crave  it 
still.  When  the  question  is  raised,  Why  are 
the  churches  empty?  the  all-sufficient  an- 
swer is  that  there  are  churches  whose  thresh- 
olds are  worn  by  multitudes  from  dawn  till 
noon,  and  that  not  only  on  Sunday,  but  every 
day  of  the  week.  If  a  church  is  merely  a 
place  to  pray  in,  then  men  can  pray  as  well 
at  home,  or  under  the  dome  of  heaven  in 
sight  of  the  eternal  hills  that  with  white 
fingers  point  the  way  to  God.  If  a  church  is 
merely  a  place  for  hearing  the  Gospel,  then 
men  can  read  the  Gospel  as  well  in  some 
quiet  nook  and  hear  its  exposition  in  the 
silent  voices  of  the  saints  that  speak  from 
many  a  venerable  tome.    But  if  the  church  is 


The  Altar  of  God  237 

a  temple,  built  around  an  altar  on  which  is 
offered  a  true  sacrifice,  by  a  true  priest,  then 
men  must  come  to  church  to  assist  at  that 
sacrifice,  and  to  satisfy  that  craving  which 
God  implanted  in  the  human  heart,  and 
which  God  alone  has  known  how  to  satisfy. 
That  is  the  explanation  why  the  Catholic 
churches  are  every  Sunday  crowded  to  the 
doors,  and  that  is  the  explanation  why  on 
a  working  day  like  this  you  leave  your  busi- 
ness to  gather  around  the  altar,  to  bow 
down  in  adoration  before  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  to  pour  out  your  souls  in  thanksgiving 
that  it  has  pleased  Him  to  give  to  you  and 
to  your  children  the  ministrations  of  a  faith- 
ful priest. 

Such  is  the  Catholic  idea  of  the  priest, 
and  such  is  the  origin  of  the  Catholic  rever- 
ence for  his  character.  Wherefore  the 
Apostle  says:  ^^No  man  taketh  the  honor 
unto  himself  unless  he  is  called  of  God  even 
as  Aaron  was."  Indeed,  the  wonder  is  not 
that  men  should  wait  for  the  divine  voca- 
tion, but  that  the  dignity  should  be  given  to 
men  at  all.  For  that  reason  the  training  for 
the  priesthood  is  a  long  and  searching 
ordeal.    It  is   not  merely   that   the   priest 


238  Altar  and  Priest 

must  have  the  professional  knowledge  and 
skill  which  are  necessary  in  every  calling, 
but  he  must  have,  moreover,  the  mind  that 
was  in  Jesus  Christ,  those  lofty  ideals,  those 
disinterested  ambitions,  that  burning  zeal, 
that  splendid  self-sacrifice  that  in  the  begin- 
ning won  the  world  to  Christ.  Wherefore 
at  an  early  age  he  is  taken  from  home  and 
family  and  trained  even  as  Samuel  was  by 
the  Ark  of  the  Lord.  Before  the  malice  of 
the  world  can  corrupt  his  heart  he  is  intro- 
duced into  the  fellowship  of  the  saints  and 
fed  with  the  bread  of  angels.  In  the  shel- 
tered paradise  of  the  seminary  he  advances 
like  his  Master  in  wisdom  and  age  and  grace 
before  God  and  man.  How  on  this  day  the 
mind  flies  back  to  twenty-five  years  ago. 
How  far  a  cry  from  these  foothills  of  the 
Rockies  to  the  pleasant  plains  of  Kildare. 
O  hallowed  cloisters  of  Maynooth!  O  leafy 
walks!  O  children  of  the  tabernacle  that 
clear  eyed  watched  the  lamp  of  God !  There 
at  the  feet  of  wise  and  holy  men  we  learned 
lessons,  and  were  filled  with  noble  thoughts 
to  which,  were  we  but  true,  how  happy 
were  our  lot.  Then  we  knew  nothing  of  the 
cares  of  the  world  and  the  deceit  of  men. 


The  Altar  of  God  239 

^^Eheu  fugaces  labuntur  anni" — ^^Alas,  how 
the  fugitive  years  slip  by.''  Far  flung  across 
the  world  are  the  companions  of  our  youth. 
Some  sleep  in  holy  Ireland,  and  their  resur- 
rection shall  be  with  the  saints  of  their  own 
people.  Others  lie  beneath  the  pall  of 
northern  snows,  and  others  rest  to  the  dirge 
of  the  long  wash  of  Australasian  seas.  The 
most  that  remain  uphold  the  cause  of  faith 
and  fatherland  at  home ;  but  on  every  strand 
our  feet  have  been  set,  in  every  land  we  have 
made  our  home,  ^^Quae  regio  in  terris  nos- 
tri  non  plena  laboris?" 

And  you.  Father  O'Ryan,  have  not  been 
false  to  the  teachings  of  your  Alma  Mater 
or  faithless  to  the.  high  traditions  of  May- 
nooth.  This  day  is  a  testimony.  The  pres- 
ence of  your  Bishop,  the  crowded  ranks  of 
your  brother  priests,  your  parishioners,  the 
Catholics  of  this  city  and  state — aye,  the 
good  report  of  them  that  are  without — all 
are  your  witness.  You  have  always  been 
the  priest — not,  indeed,  that  you  or  any  one 
else  could  bear  the  burden  without  at  times 
failing;  but  Christ  chose  men,  not  angels, 
to  be  His  ministers,  and  we  are  made  frail 


240  Altar  and  Priest 

that  we  may  have  compassion  on  them  that 
suffer  and  do  err. 

You  have  always  been  the  true  church- 
man— faithful  and  loyal  to  the  spouse  of 
Christ.  Twenty-five  years  ago  you  prom- 
ised reverence  and  obedience  to  the  chief 
pastor  of  your  diocese,  and  like  the  knights 
of  old  you  became  your  Bishop's  man.  It 
is  strange  how  those  who  are  not  Catholics 
misunderstand  the  nature  of  the  priest's  rela- 
tions to  those  who  are  set  over  him  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  rule  the  Church  of  God. 
They  forever  sneer  at  blind  obedience  and 
slavish  subservience.  It  is  significant  that 
the  ancient  canons  forbade  a  slave  to  be 
made  a  priest.  The  Church  does  not  want 
hef  priests  to  have  servile  minds,  for  we  are 
not  children  of  the  bond  woman,  but  of  the 
free.  It  would  be  wonderful,  indeed,  if  she 
who  is  the  mother  of  law  in  modern  civiliza- 
tion were  not  ruled  by  law  in  her  own 
affairs.  And  so  it  is.  Her  authorities  are 
not  irresponsible  despots;  her  sons  are  not 
chattel  slaves.  The  Pope  himself,  source  of 
power  and  jurisdiction,  scrupulously  fol- 
lows the  canons ;  and  not  the  least  glory  of 
our  Holy  Father,  happily  reigning,  is  his 


The  Altar  of  God  241 

simplification  and  codification  of  Church 
law.  The  bishops  in  their  dioceses  have 
their  own  legislation,  some  common  to  all 
dioceses,  some  suitable  to  particular  locali- 
ties. The  priests  know  by  what  rules  they 
are  governed  and  with  what  franchises 
Holy  Church  has  endowed  them.  There- 
fore, when  they  use  their  rights  they  are  to 
be  commended,  as  they  are  still  more  to  be 
commended  when  authority  has  spoken  they 
yield  a  full,  ungrudging  and  loyal  assent. 

You  have  been  the  good  pastor ;  you  know 
your  sheep,  and  they  know  you.  You  have 
not  been  as  the  hireling,  for  you  came  here 
in  poverty.  In  self-sacrifice  you  have  built 
up  the  temporalities  of  St.  Leo's  until  now 
it  is  almost  clear  of  debt.  You  have  trained 
your  children  to  know  and  love  our  Lord — 
to  come  close  to  Him.  You  have  been  an 
inspiration  to  the  young  men  and  women 
that  have  come  under  your  influence.  You 
have  been  a  safe  counselor  to  the  old,  and 
a  messenger  of  mercy  at  the  bed  of  death. 

You  have  been  a  good  citizen,  playing  a 
man's  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  your  city, 
as  every  priest  gifted  as  you  are  is  bound 
to  do.    From  the  very  beginning  the  Church 


242  Altar  and  Priest 

has  taken  her  share  in  civic  upbuilding. 
Who  to-day  shall  chain  her  ministers  to  the 
sacristies?  Especially  has  the  case  of  the 
poor  and  of  children  appealed  to  you. 
Many  and  many  are  the  temptations  that 
the  natural  concupiscence  of  man  casts  in 
his  way;  but  when  those  concupiscences  are 
exploited  for  money,  when  shameless  pan- 
derers  make  still  more  slippery  the  slippery 
paths  of  youth,  when  the  toll  takers  of  crime 
stand  at  the  gates  of  hell  that  roar  at  the 
corners  of  every  street,  then  it  is  time  for 
the  citizen,  then  it  is  time  for  the  priest  to 
rise  up  and  sweep  them  out  of  existence — 
knowing  well  that  the  unreinforced  tend- 
ency of  fallen  human  nature  will  create 
vice  and  crime  enough  without  calling  on 
the  aid  of  Mammon,  the  meanest  spirit  of 
all  that  fell. 

And  now,  dear  Father  O'Ryan,  it  is  time 
to  end.  I  am  sure  1  take  no  unwarranted 
liberty  when  I  congratulate  you  in  the  name 
of  your  Bishop  and  of  your  fellow  priests, 
of  your  faithful  flock,  and  of  all  the  citizens 
of  this  Queen  City  of  the  Plains.  The 
twenty-five  years  are  past,  and,  like  St.  Paul, 
you  forget  the  things  that  are  behind,  and 


The  Altar  of  God  243 

you  stretch  forward  to  what  is  to  come.  May 
God  strengthen  you  to  every  good  work. 
And  you,  his  people,  let  your  prayers  com- 
pass him  round  about  as  a  sure  defense. 
Pray  that  God's  wings  may  overshadow  him, 
and  that  the  everlasting  arms  may  bear  him 
up.  Pray  that  as  the  silver  years  ripen  into 
gold,  greater  may  be  his  opportunities  for 
good,  and  nobler  his  achievements.  May  we 
and  he  see  his  golden  jubilee,  and  when  at 
last  the  trump  of  death  sounds,  for  that,  too, 
is  the  trumpet  of  jubilee,  may  we  be  all 
gathered  with  our  Great  High  Priest  on 
the  hills  of  eternity — priests  and  people  to 
enjoy  that  jubilee  that  shall  never  end. 


LIKE  UNTO  THE  SON  OF  GOD 


First  Mass  of  the  Rev.  Robert  O'Connor,  St.  Peters 
Church,  San  Francisco,  Cal,  Sunda}f,  June  30,  1912. 


LIKE  UNTO  THE  SON  OF  GOD 

To-day  is  a  high  festival  not  only  for  the 
young  priest  who  sings  his  first  Mass  on  this 
the  solemnity  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  but 
also  for  the  people  of  St.  Peter's  parish. 
For  him  it  is  a  day  that  he  has  long  desired ; 
for  you  the  thought  uppermost  in  your 
minds  is  that  it  is  one  of  your  own  that  stands 
before  you  clad  in  the  vestments  of  his 
Order.  Born  within  the  shadow  of  these 
walls,  baptized  at  yonder  font,  raised  in 
these  schools,  serving  as  a  boy  in  this  sanc- 
tuary, now,  after  years  of  preparation,  he 
has  been  judged  worthy  to  offer  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  altar.  He  is  indeed  a  child 
of  this  church,  and  he  has  a  special  claim  on 
your  prayers^  as  he  enters  to-day  into  the 
Holy  Place  to  execute  the  priest's  office  be- 
fore the  Lord.  In  return  you  and  yours 
have  a  special  claim  on  his  suffrages  as  to- 
day and  every  day  he  immolates  the  spotless 
Victim  whose  blood  speaketh  the  better 
things  both  for  the  living  and  the  dead. 

Such  an  occasion  as  this  and  such 
thoughts  as  these  bring  before  us  with  new 


248  Altar  and  Priest 

force  two  great  characteristics  of  the  Cath- 
olic priesthood.  The  first  is,  that  the  priest 
is  one  of  yourselves :  bone  of  your  bone  and 
flesh  of  your  flesh.  The  second  is,  that  he 
is  taken  from  among  you  and  set  apart,  that 
he  may,  as  the  Apostle  says,  ^^Stand  for  men 
in  the  things  that  pertain  unto  God." 

According  to  the  provisions  of  the  Old 
Law,  the  priesthood  was  the  property  of  a 
caste.  The  office  descended  from  father  to 
son  within  the  limits  of  a  certain  family  in 
a  certain  tribe.  In  the  New  Law  the  whole 
Christian  community  is  declared  to  be  ^^a 
chosen  race,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  na- 
tion, a  purchased  people."  Therefore  now 
no  race  of  men,  no  nation,  no  kindred,  no 
condition  of  life,  is  debarred  from  the  sanc- 
tuary. The  sons  of  every  family  are  eligible 
to  serve  at  the  altar.  The  one  thing  neces- 
sary is  that  the  Lord  have  need  of  them. 
*^No  man,"  says  St.  Paul,  ^'taketh  the  honor 
unto  himself  unless  he  is  called  of  God,  even 
as  Aaron  was."  A  divine  vocation  to  the 
priesthood  is  required,  and  that  vocation 
the  still,  small  voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
ever  whispering  to  the  chosen  ones  among 
your  children.    Oh,  happy  are  you,  if  your 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        249 

prayers,  your  counsel  and  your  example 
teach  them  to  answer,  like  the  child  of 
Anna  in  the  silence  of  the  tabernacle: 
^^Speak,  Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth/' 

But  once  the  priest  is  called  of  God,  he 
must  be  ready,  like  Abraham,  to  go  forth 
from  his  father's  house,  and,  if  needs  be, 
from  his  native  land.  For  him  there  is  no 
sweet  dream  of  home;  for  him  no  hope  of 
the  love  of  wife  or  child.  Henceforth  his 
home  is  the  house  of  God;  henceforth  his 
spouse  is  Holy  Church,  his  children  the 
flock  of  Christ.  He  is  adopted  into  the 
Order  of  Melchisedech,  of  whom  it  is 
written  that  he  was ' Vithout  father,  without 
mother,  without  genealogy  or  length  of 
days,  but  made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God." 

It  is  this  assimilation  to  the  Son  of  God 
that  cuts  off  the  Catholic  priest  from  his 
own  people.  He  is  no  longer  a  mere  man 
"whose  father  we  know,  whose  mother  we 
know,  whose  brothers  and  sisters  are 
amongst  us."  He  is  God's  messenger.  He 
is  no  longer  the  playmate  of  our  boyhood, 
the  companion  of  our  youth.  He  is  the  am- 
bassador of  the  Great  King.  He  is  not  even 
the  brilliant  scholar,  the  wise  administrator. 


250  Altar  arid  Priest 

the  kindly  friend  or  the  sage  counsellor. 
Henceforth  and  forever  he  is  the  fellow- 
laborer  of  Jesus  Christ.  When  you  bring 
your  children  to  him  that  he  may  pour  upon 
them  the  waters  of  regeneration,  it  is  Christ 
Himself  that  baptizes.  When  he  lifts  his 
hand  in  absolution  in  the  tribunal  of  pen- 
ance, the  sentence  is  ratified  in  the  high 
court  of  heaven  by  the  Judge  of  all.  When 
he  offers  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  the  Vic- 
tim is  jcaught  up  by  the  Holy  Angels  of 
God  and  borne  to  the  altar  on  high,  in  the 
sight  of  the  Divine  Majesty,  and  is  made 
His  own  by  the  Eternal  Priest  Himself  who 
stands  ever  living  to  make  intercession  for 
men. 

To  co-operate  with  Jesus  Christ,  nay,  to 
bear  the  very  Person  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
salvation  of  the  world,  this  is  the  proper 
work  of  the  Catholic  priest.  And  behold, 
what  high  mysteries  we  touch  here!  Of  all 
the  dark  ways  of  God  none  is  so  unsearch- 
able as  His  love  for  the  world,  His  hunger 
for  men's  souls.  The  other  secrets  of  His 
nature,  wonderful  though  they  be,  and  in- 
comprehensible, do  not  stagger  the  mind 
like  this.    They  are,  so  to  speak,  becoming 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        251 

to  the  Godhead,  and  to  be  expected  in  Him 
whose  being  is  infinite,  whose  properties  are 
hid  in  light  inaccessible.  It  is  indeed  nat- 
ural for  us  and  easy  to  bow  down  and  adore 
the  mysterious  adumbrations  of  the  glory 
which  ^^eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  nor 
hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  men  to 
conceive."  But  that  God  should  love  this 
world,  that  God  should  desire  to  win  those 
souls  of  ours — that  world  whose  emptiness 
we  know  so  well,  those  souls  whose  worth- 
lessness  we  so  sadly  realize — this  almost 
passes  our  will  to  believe.  ^^What  is  man, 
O  Lord,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him?  or 
the  son  of  man  that  Thou  dost  visit  him?" 

If  God's  love  had  been  lavished  on  a 
world  fresh  from  His  creative  hand,  when 
He  considered  it  and  pronounced  it  good, 
such  would  have  been  the  expected  pleasure 
of  the  Maker  in  His  handiwork.  If  He  had 
taken  complaisance  in  the  perfect  image  and 
unsullied  likeness  of  Himself  as  He  beheld 
it  in  the  innocent  souls  of  our  first  parents, 
it  would  have  been  only  the  father's  com- 
mon affection  for  his  children.  But  God's 
love  is  not  for  the  inviolate  bowers  of  Eden 
or  for  the  morning  splendor  of  Adam's  soul. 


252  Altar  and  Priest 

This  world  has  been  blasted  by  sin,  and  in 
its  high  places  the  rebel  angels  rule.  Hu- 
manity has  been  dragged  down  below  the 
Ifevel  of  the  brute.  Men's  sins  cry  to  heaven 
for  vengeance.  Throughout  all  the  earth 
^^blood  toucheth  blood."  Yet  it  is  upon  this 
ruin  that  God  looks;  it  is  this  desolation 
that  He  loves.  *  He  withholds  the  thunder- 
bolts of  His  wrath  from  those  cowering  yet 
presumptious  renegades  and  stoops  to  tempt 
them  with  the  superabounding  treasures  of 
His  mercy — nay,  more;  by  a  stupendous 
act  He  exhausts,  as  it  were,  the  resources  of 
Divine  generosity,  for  the  Scripture  says: 

*^God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
life  everlasting." 

Let  us  meditate  on  this  wondrous  saying, 
and  let  its  meaning  sink  deep  into  our 
minds.  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son  for  its  redemp- 
tion. Surely,  this  is  a  second  mystery  which 
almost  overtaxes  our  powers  of  belief. 
Long  ago,  when  the  Prophet  Isaias  was 
vouchsafed  a  vision  of  the  Divine  plan,  he 
cried  out  in  amazement:     *^Who  hath  be- 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        253 

lieved  our  report  and  to  whom  hath  the  arm 
of  the  Lord  been  revealed?"  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son.  Had  He,  then,  no  other  messengers? 
Were  there  not  millions  upon  millions  of 
celestial  spirits,  cherubim  and  seraphim, 
principalities  and  powers,  to  whom  He 
might  entrust  that  high  emprise?  When 
the  rebel  angels  contested  His  sovereignty 
in  the  very  halls  of  heaven  He  chose  the 
Archangel  Michael  to  rally  the  hosts  of  the 
faithful,  with  his  war-cry,  "Who  is  like  unto 
God?"  and  to  war  with  Satan  and  to  cast 
him  and  his  angels  forth.  Why  shall  not 
Michael  now  press  the  pursuit  and  dislodge 
the  evil  one  froni  the  strongholds  he  has 
built  him  in  the  midst  of  men?  Could  not 
Gabriel,  who  is  named  the  Strength  of  God, 
have  wrestled  with  the  deceiver  and  bound 
him  with  the  adamantine  chains  in  the  bot- 
tomless pit?  Might  not  Raphael,  who  is 
the  Healing  of  God,  have  descended  with 
heavenly  balm  to  cure  the  wounds  of  the 
world  and  to  lead  men  safe  to  their  Father's 
home?  But  no!  Heaven  might  be  purged 
by  the  ministry  of  angels,  but  earth  was  to 


254  Altar  and  Priest 

be  redeemed  by  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God. 

"For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
should  have  life  everlasting. 

"O,  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the  wisdom 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  God!  How  in- 
comprehensible are  His  judgments;  how 
unsearchable  His  ways!" 

"And  the  word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
amongst  us."  In  this  mystery  of  the  Incar- 
nation deep  again  calleth  unto  deep.  God 
not  only  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  to  save 
the  world,  but  He  gave  Him  as  man.  To 
use  the  expressive  words  of  the  Apostle,  the 
Son  of  God  "emptied  Himself,  taking  the 
form  of  a  servant,  being  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  man  and  in  habit  found  as  a  man." 
In  the  Gospel  parable  the  King  says  of  the 
wicked  husbandmen :  "They  will  reverence 
my  son,"  as  he  sends  him  to  receive  the  fruits 
of  the  vineyard.  One  would  imagine  that 
when  the  Son  of  God  appeared  upon  earth 
the  whole  world  would  rise  up  to  welcome 
Him.    Yet,  what  is  set  down  in  Holy  Writ? 

"He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world  was 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        25^ 

made  by  Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him 
not;  He  came  unto  His  own,  and  His  own 
received  Him  not." 

Surely,  during  the  long  centuries  of  wait- 
ing this  world  had  had  enough  of  war, 
enough  of  woe,  to  dispose  it  to  receive  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  the  Joy  of  Angels.  Surely, 
man  had  had  time  to  weary  of  his  many  in- 
ventions and  would  be  ready  to  follow  Him 
who  is  the  light  of  the  world  and  the  way 
of  life.  Prophets  and  kings  had  long  looked 
for  His  day;  surely  their  desire  has  infected 
the  nations,  and  as  the  Star  of  Jacob  shines 
in  the  East  they  will  all  rise  up  and  hasten 
to  adore.  Alas,  how  sad  is  the  reality!  A 
few  poor  shepherds  make  their  way  to  the 
crib  of  Bethlehem ;  a  few  nameless  strangers 
from  beyond  the  desert  straggle  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  asking:  ^^Where  is  He 
that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?" 

When  His  hour  had  arrived,  and  the  pre- 
cursor had  proclaimed  Him  as  the  Hope 
of  Israel,  as  ^^the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,"  how  cold  was 
His  reception!  The  multitudes  followed 
Him,  it  is  true,  but  how  just  was  the  re- 
proach:    ^^Ye  seek  Me  because  ye  ate  of 


2^6  Altar  and  Priest 

the  loaves  and  were  filled."  Thousands 
crowded  round  Him  and  marveled  at  His 
power  to  heal  the  sick,  to  cleanse  the  lepers, 
to  give  sight  to  the  blind,  to  make  the  lame 
walk,  to  raise  the  dead;  yet  in  every  audi- 
ence that  pressed  upon  Him,  how  frequent 
were  the  sour  scoffers:  ^^This  man  blas- 
phemeth."  At  every  exhibition  of  His  di- 
vine power  the  envious  Pharisees  were  ready 
with  their  explanation,  ^'He  casteth  out 
devils  by  Beelzebub,  the  Prince  of  Devils."" 
Behind  every  question  addressed  to  Him,  no 
matter  how  innocent  it  seemed,  lay  the  secret 
snare  ^^how  they  might  entrap  Him  in  His 
speech.''  In  every  council  of  His  own  na- 
tion He  was  looked  upon  as  a  menace  to  its 
safety.  ^^This  man  seduceth  the  people." 
Aye,  in  the  very  sanctuary  of  His  own 
household  the  black  heart  of  the  traitor 
was  seeking  occasion  to  betray  Him. 

We  to  whom  the  cross  is  a  badge  of  honor 
cannot  realize  how  this  chill  shadow  always 
lay  across  the  life  of  Christ.  Through  His 
passion  He  has  entered  into  His  glory,  and 
we,  dazzled  with  that  glory,  forget  His 
sufferings  as  a  tale  that  is  told.  But  during 
all  His  earthly  career  His  Cross  and  Pas- 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        257 

sion  weighed  on  His  spirit,  and  again  and 
again  he  prophesies  to  His  Apostles  how 
the  Son  of  Man  would  be  betrayed  into 
the  hands  of  sinners  and  how  they  would 
mock  Him  and  scourge  Him  and  spit  upon 
Him  and  put  Him  to  a  shameful  death. 
How  much  those  indignities,  those  suffer- 
ings, meant  to  our  Lord  is  forcibly  brought 
home  to  us  as  we  see  Him  prostrate  in  the 
Garden  of  Gethsemane.  It  was  no  idle 
protestation  that  fell  from  His  lips  as  He 
prayed  to  be  spared.  It  was  the  loathing 
and  horror  of  what  was  to  come  that 
wrung  from  Him  the  piteous  supplication: 
^Tather,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice 
pass  away."  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  King 
of  Kings,  Lord  of  Lords,  the  champion  of 
the  race  whose  nature  He  had  assumed, 
yet  on  the  threshold  of  His  Passion  He 
trembled  and  drew  back.  But  only  for  a 
moment.  ^Tather,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
chalice  pass  away.  Yet,  if  I  must  drink  it, 
let  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done."  And 
drink  it  He  did,  down  to  the  bitter  dregs. 
^^Having  loved  His  own.  He  loved  them 
even  to  the  end;"  ^^and  He  entered  into  His 


258  Altar  and  Priest 

agony,  and  His  sweat  became  as  blood  and 
ran  down  in  great  drops  to  the  ground.'' 

Well  had  He  said:  ^^Greater  love  than 
this  no  man  hath,  that  he  lay  down  His  life 
for  His  friend."  Not  the  indifference  of 
mankind,  not  the  malice  of  enemies,  not  the 
treason  of  friends,  not  the  thorns,  not  the 
nails,  nor  the  dark  hour  of  dereliction — 
not  any  of  these  things  could  turn  Him  from 
the  supreme  test  of  His  love.  The  eternal 
love  of  the  Father  is  now  made  manifest 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son,  and  the  prophecy 
is  fulfilled.  ^^I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  things  to  Myself." 
Henceforth,  Christ  reigns  from  the  Cross 
supreme  over  the  hearts  of  men,  and  St. 
Paul  in  deathless  words  voices  the  homage 
of  humanity: 

"Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  anguish,  or 
famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  persecu- 
tion, or  the  sword?  Even  as  it  is  written: 
^For  Thy  sake  we  are  put  to  death  all  the 
day  long.  We  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the 
slaughter.'  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors  through  Him  that 
loved  us.  For  I  am  sure  that  neither  death, 
nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        259 

powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to 
come,  nor  might,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to  sep- 
arate us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

After  our  Great  High  Priest  had  offered 
Himself  on  the  altar  of  the  Cross,  in  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  mankind,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  '^as  a  forerunner  He  should  enter 
within  the  veil  of  the  everlasting  sanctuary 
to  appear  before  the  eyes  of  God  for  us." 
Yet  His  work  in  the  world  was,  as  it  were, 
only  begun.  Who  shall  stand  in  His  place, 
as  generation  after  generation  breaks  like 
the  waves  of  the  sea  at  the  foot  of  Calvary? 
Whom  shall  He  trust  with  the  ministry  of 
salvation?  He  had  chosen  men,  but  they 
failed  Him.  Judas  sold  Him;  Peter  de- 
nied Him ;  they  all  fled  away  and  left  Him. 
It  is  true  He  has  His  faithful  angels. 
When  His  disciples  could  not  watch  one 
hour  with  Him  in  the  garden  ^^an  angel 
from  heaven  came  and  strengthened  Him." 
Shall  He  now  commit  the  new  dispensation 
to  the  angels'  care?  Surely  it  demands  an- 
gelic purity  to  wash  away  sin.  Surely 
angelic    holiness    is    hardly    sufficient    to 


260  Altar  and  Priest 

handle  the  bread  of  life.  Surely  only  the 
tongues  of  angels  are  fitted,  as  on  the  first 
Christmas  morning,  to  proclaim  ^Teace  on 
earth  to  men  of  good  will." 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  the  weakness,  all  the 
cowardice,  all  the  baseness,  displayed  by 
His  Apostles,  Christ  did  not  repent  Him 
of  His  first  choice.  He  had  taken  human 
nature  ^^that  He  might  restore  in  a  more 
marvelous  manner  that  which  He  had  so 
marvelously  created."  As  it  were,  in  return 
for  this  gift  of  humanity  He  granted  unto 
men  that  they  should  be  ^^participators  in 
His  divinity."  He  would  manifest  His 
power  by  making  the  foolish  things  of  this 
world  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak 
things  of  this  world  bring  to  naught  the 
strong.  On  those  trembling  disciples  He 
invoked  the  very  authority  wherewith  He 
had  been  invested  when  He  was  sent  to  save 
the  world.  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me, 
even  so  send  I  you."  Into  those  fluttering 
hearts  He  poured  the  fullness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  straightway  they  became  His 
witnesses  in  every  land  and  persevered  even 
to  the  shedding  of  their  blood  in  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature.    Nay,  more; 


Like  Unto  the  Son  of  God        261 

lest  any  aid  should  be  wanting  to  them  or  to 
their  successors  He  sealed  their  commission 
with  the  promise  of  His  never-failing  pres- 
ence: "Behold,  I  am  with  you  all  days, 
even  unto  the  consummation  of  the  world." 
Such,  then,  is  the  method  chosen  by  our 
Lord  to  continue  the  work  of  the  Incarna- 
tion; such  the  responsibility  He  has  laid 
on  the  shoulders  of  His  priests.  As  His 
meat  was  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
Him  and  to  accomplish  His  work,  so  His 
priests  have  no  other  object  in  life  except 
to  attend  to  the  great  business  of  the  salva- 
tion of  mankind.  For  that  immense  under- 
taking how  few  and  feeble  they  are.  We 
read  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  that  as  our 
Lord  once  passed  through  Samaria  in  the 
spring  time  He  sat  down,  wearied,  by  the 
well  of  Jacob.  Looking  over  the  country- 
side, he  saw  that  where  the  sower  had  passed 
the  tender  shoots  of  the  corn  were  already 
veiling  the  clods  with  green.  Then  He 
turned  to  His  disciples  and  asked  them: 

"Do  ye  not  say.  There  are  yet  four  months 
and  then  the  harvest  cometh?  Behold,  I 
say  unto  you,  lift  up  your  eyes  and  look  on 


262  Altar  and  Priest 

the  countries  and  see  that  they  are  already 
white  for  the  harvest.'^ 

The  world  is  Christ's  harvest,  and  He  has 
sent  his  priests  to  gather  it  into  His  barns. 
Year  after  year,  generation  after  genera- 
tion, all  over  the  earth  the  fields  turn  white 
and  call  for  the  reapers.  But  oh!  lonely 
harvest  fields  of  the  world!  Well  did  your 
Master  prophecy  of  you:  ^^The  harvest  in- 
deed is  great,  but  the  laborers  are  few ;  pray 
ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that 
He  send  His  laborers  into  His  harvest." 

Make  that  prayer  your  own  on  this  au- 
spicious occasion,  and  then  ask  yourselves 
what  have  you  done  toward  its  accomplish- 
ment? Never  in  the  history  of  the  world 
was  the  harvest  so  great  as  it  is  to-day ;  never 
was  access  so  easy;  never  were  laborers  so 
much  in  demand.  In  foreign  lands;  at  our 
own  doors,  rises  the  call  for  priests.  What 
have  you  done  to  answer  it?  O,  fathers  and 
mothers,  cherish  the  call  if  it  comes  to  your 
children,  and  protect  it  from  the  choking 
cares  of  the  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches.  You  must  be  worthy  of  the  grace 
as  well  as  your  son,  and  your  conduct  and 
your  conversation  should  be  such  as  to  co- 


Like   Unto   the  Son   of  God        263 

operate  with  the  spirit  of  God.  And  you, 
young  men,  if  you  feel  in  your  hearts  the 
desire  to  repay  the  great  love  wherewith 
Christ  has  loved  you,  by  offering  yourselves 
to  Him  to  labor  with  Him  side  by  side  in 
His  harvest,  stifle  it  not,  but  rather  thank 
Him  that  He  has  singled  you  out  for  the 
honor,  and  pray  night  and  day  that  He 
may  enable  you  to  spend  yourselves  and  to 
be  spent  in  His  cause.  And  to-day,  as  we 
congratulate  Father  O'Connor  and  his 
family — and  I  am  commissioned  also  by 
Father  Casey  to  express  his  good  wishes  and 
his  regrets  that  he  cannot  be  with  you — let 
us  beseech  Almighty  God  to  keep  in  him 
always  the  heart  of  youth,  that  in  all  the 
trials  of  the  world  he  may  preserve  ever 
fresh  the  generous  spirit  that  led  him  to 
offer  himself  a  willing  sacrifice  at  God's 
altar,  and  that  whatever  work  he  is  given 
to  do  in  God's  harvest  field  he  may  do  it 
with  all  his  strength. 


THE  FAITHFUL  SERVANT 


The  Funeral  of  the  Veiy  Rev.  Alexander  P. 
Doyle,  C.  5.  P.,  5/.  Mary's  Church,  San 
Francisco,  CaL,  Monday,  August  12,  1913. 


THE  FAITHFUL  SERVANT 

When  a  man  is  suddenly  taken  away  from 
a  work  which  his  hands  have  fashioned  at  a 
time  when  the  maturity  of  his  powers  as- 
sures its  permanency  and  promises  the  wider 
extension  of  its  usefulness,  how  deeply  we 
feel  the  transitory  nature  of  human  endeavor 
and  the  vanity  of  human  wishes. 

^^Sunt  lacrimae  rerum  et  mentem  mortalia 
tangunt.'' 

Neither  is  there  wanting  to-day  the  note 
of  pathos  that  he  who  in  his  young  manhood 
went  forth  from  his  father's  house  and  his 
native  city  at  the  call  of  God  should  be 
brought  back  by  what  men  call  an  accident, 
but  believers  know  to  be  the  guiding  hand 
of  that  same  God — should  be  brought  back 
to  die  among  his  own, 

"And,  as  a  hare  whom  horns  and  hounds 

pursue, 
Pants  to  the  place  from  whence  at  first  he 

flew, 
I  still  had  hopes,  my  long  vexations  past. 
Here  to  return — and  die  at  home  at  last." 


268  Altar  and  Priest 

Still,  these  natural  feelings  disappear  be- 
fore the  consideration  that  the  priesthood 
is  rooted  not  in  the  natural  order  but  in  the 
supernatural  order.  The  day  he  knelt  before 
the  bishop  to  receive  the  yoke  of  Christ 
he  was  admonished  in  the  words  of  the 
Church  that  as  henceforward  his  chief 
ministry  was  to  show  forth  the  death  of  the 
Lord  at  the  holy  altar,  so  he  must  die  daily 
to  the  world  and  live  only  unto  God.  As 
in  the  solemn  office  sung  over  him  choir 
answers  unto  choir  and  antiphon  unto  anti- 
phon,  so  the  priest's  funeral  answers  to  the 
priest's  ordination.  The  Spartan  mother 
sent  her  son  to  the  wars  and  bade  him  return 
with  his  shield  or  upon  it;  so  Holy  Mother 
Church  sends  her  priests  out  as  men  des- 
tined unto  death,  and  our  one  hope  is  that 
when  the  end  comes  we  may  be  able  to  cry 
with  the  Apostle: 

"I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I  have 
finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith, 
and  now  there  is  laid  up  for  me  the  crown 
which  the  Just  Judge  will  render  me  in  that 
day." 


The  Faithful  Servant  269 


It  is  thirty-five  years  since  Alexander 
Doyle,  just  graduated  from  college,  heard 
the  call  of  God.  His  vocation  came  to  him 
through  the  first  band  of  Paulist  mission- 
aries that  visited  these  shores.  The  memory 
of  that  mission  band  calls  us  back  to  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  and  the  religious 
conditions  of  the  East.  You  know  that  it 
is  the  nature  of  Protestantism  to  disinte- 
grate. It  may  be  held  together  for  a  time 
by  a  state  establishment  or  persecuting 
laws,  but  once  left  to  itself  it  tends  to  go  to 
pieces.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  churches 
in  the  Eastern  cities  over  half  a  century 
ago,  and  such  is  the  case  all  over  the  world 
to-day. 

When  civil  liberty  in  this  country  was 
achieved  by  the  colonists  religious  liberty 
could  not  long  lag  behind.  The  United 
States  are  forbidden  to  establish  a  religion, 
and  the  various  states  soon  fell  in  line.  With 
the  coming  of  freedom  came  religious  un- 
rest, and  the  old  so-called  orthodoxy  was 
breaking  up  before  the  new  rationalism. 
Across  the  ocean  came  the  breath  of  what 


270  Altar  and  Priest 

Newman  called  the  Second  Spring,  and  it 
had  power  to  stir  even  the  cold  Calvinistic 
blood  of  New  England.  Through  the  open 
gates  of  this  hospitable  land  were  pouring 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  immigrants  from 
Catholic  countries,  driven  by  famine,  by 
landlordism  cruder  than  famine,  by  politi- 
cal uprisings,  by  high  taxes,  by  military 
conscription,  and  they  were  building  up 
the  great  cities  and  spreading  out  over 
the  prairies,  mining  the  mountains  and  sub- 
duing the  wilderness,  and  everywhere 
bringing  with  them  their  priests  and  their 
sisters,  and  lifting  up  in  city  and  town  and 
village  over  their  churches  that  sign  which 
Puritanism  hated  with  so  savage  a  hatred— 
the  Sign  of  the  Cross. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  when  a  number 
of  young  Americans  born  and  bred  in  Prot- 
estantism began  to  realize  that  their  hearts 
were  hungering  for  some  creed  more 
adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  age  and 
more  satisfying  to  the  needs  of  human 
nature,  the  Catholic  Church  was  not  absent 
from  their  ken.  They  searched  first  among 
the  sects  for  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and 
discovered  it  not.    Some  of  them  sought  the 


The  Faithful  Servant  271 

hidden  treasure  in  socialistic  or  commu- 
nistic experiments,  but  it  eluded  their  grasp. 
Finally,  by  one  door  or  another  they  entered 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  the  bosom  of 
the  great  Mother  found  that  peace  which 
the  world  cannot  give. 

Such  were  the  early  Paulists.  Most  of 
them  had  been  clergymen,  and  they  took 
upon  themselves  the  obligations  of  the 
Catholic  priesthood.  When  they  came  to 
labor  among  the  people  their  hearts  natu- 
rally were  drawn  to  their  own.  Pharisees 
of  the  Pharisees,  Hebrews  of  the  Hebrews, 
they  yearned  over  the  scattered  children  of 
Abraham,  and,  like  St.  Paul,  they  would 
even  be  an  anathema  for  their  brethren. 
Accordingly,  after  some  time,  they  formed 
the  Missionary  Society  of  St.  Paul  the 
Apostle,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Holy  See, 
and,  making  their  headquarters  in  New 
York,  undertook  the  great  work  first  of 
sanctifying  their  own  souls  and  then  of  sav- 
ing the  souls  of  others — especially  the  souls 
of  those  who,  through  no  fault  of  theirs, 
were  deprived  of  the  strength  and  the  com- 
fort of  the  Catholic  faith. 

What   a   wonderful    dream   those   early 


272  Altar  and  Priest 

Paulists  dreamed  1  They  looked  out  on 
their  dear  native  land,  and  saw  it  rapidly 
coming  to  the  forefront  of  the  nations. 
Fresh  from  the  triumphs  of  the  Mexican 
war,  the  flag  now  floated  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific.  The  air  was  tense  with  ex- 
citement, for  the  North  was  gathering  its 
energies  for  the  inevitable  struggle  with  the 
South.  A  people  jealous  of  freedom  were 
to  be  won  to  a  Church  which  their  ances- 
tors had  rejected  and  they  had  been  taught 
to  regard  as  the  essence  of  despotism.  A 
people  energetic  as  no  other  people  in  the 
affairs  of  this  life  were  to  be  persuaded  that 
the  gain  of  the  whole  world  was  not  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  a  single  soul. 

It  was  indeed  a  dream  of  great  souls,  and 
that  its  accomplishment  has  been  delayed 
is  no  proof  that  it  was  not  from  God.  Moses, 
the  leader  of  the  children  of  Israel,  saw 
from  the  top  of  Nebo  the  Promised  Land, 
and,  though  it  was  not  given  him  to  enter, 
the  promise  of  God  was  not  made  void. 
Year  after  year  and  century  after  century 
passed  before  the  Ark  of  the  Lord  was  car- 
ried into  the  city  of  David,  but  th,^  oath 
which  the  Lord  had  sworn  still  remained. 


The  Faithful  Servant  273 

So  it  was  with  the  ^Vision  splendid"  those 
early  Paulists  saw.  Its  accomplishment  was 
not  vouchsafed  to  their  eyes,  and  even  to  us 
it  is  still  far,  far  away.  Nations,  like  men, 
may  be  taken  up  into  the  mount  of  temp- 
tation and  shown  the  glory  of  the  world, 
and  nations,  like  men,  may  bow  down  and 
adore  the  tempter.  The  sower  who  goes 
forth  to  sow  his  seed  needs  not  only  the  good 
seed,  but  also  the  good  ground.  Behold 
how  this  land  is  cumbered  with  the  thorns 
which  are  the  riches  and  the  cares  and  the 
pleasures  of  this  life,  and  wonder  not  that 
the  vision  is  delayed.  But  come  it  must. 
God  is  preparing  the  soil  of  America  for 
His  harvest,  and  whether  He  softens  it  by 
the  gentle  rain  of  His  grace  that  falls  in 
secret  or  plows  and  harrows  it  in  His  wrath 
in  the  strife  and  blood  of  the  social  revolu- 
tion— this  people  is  His  people  and  the  faith 
of  the  early  Paulists  shall  in  His  good  time 
be  justified. 

11. 

It  was  under  the  inspiration  of  those 
pioneers  that  young  Alexander  Doyle  found 
his  calling.    He  went  East  with  them,  and 


274  Altar  and  Priest 

there  prepared  for  the  priesthood.  After 
his  ordination  he  spent  the  first  fifteen 
years  of  his  clerical  life  in  the  work  of  the 
missions. 

You  know  there  are  two  sides  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  There  is  the  conserva- 
tive side;  there  is  the  propagandist  side. 
She  is  a  great  society,  and  her  first  duty  is 
toward  her  own  members  and  the  well  being 
of  the  existing  organization.  Then,  as  a 
great  missionary  body,  she  is  solicitous  for 
those  that  are  without  and  must  search  high- 
ways and  byways  that  God's  banquet  may 
be  filled.  When  Christ  first  sent  out  His 
Apostles  He  said: 

^^Into  the  ways  of  the  Gentiles  go  ye  not 
and  into  the  cities  of  the  Samaritans  enter 
ye  not,  but  seek  ye  first  the  sheep  that  perish 
of  the  house  of  Israel.'' 

You  know  of  your  own  experience  how  in 
this  age  and  in  this  country,  where  the  cares 
of  life  are  so  pressing,  where  the  tempta- 
tions to  sin  are  so  abounding,  how  many  are 
the  sheep  that  perish  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
From  the  narrow  road  they  wander  to  the 
right  hand  and  to  the  left,  and,  seeking  the 
forbidden  pastures,   they  are  scattered  on 


The  Faithful  Servant  275 

every  hill.  Hence  it  is  that  our  Holy 
Mother  the  Church,  in  her  solicitude  for 
these,  her  children,  sends  bands  of  devoted 
men  from  diocese  to  diocese,  from  parish  to 
parish,  preaching  penance  and  calling  them 
back  to  the  straight  path.  They  threaten 
the  impenitent  with  the  vengeance  of  God. 
They  lure  the  timid  with  the  mercy  of 
Christ.  Sitting  long  hours  in  the  confes- 
sional, they  loose  the  burden  of  the  sinner 
and  hearten  the  weak  with  the  counsels  that 
religion  and  experience  have  placed  in  their 
hands.  You  know  what  a  blessing  such  mis- 
sions are  to  a  community — how  many  hard 
hearts  softened,  how  many  sad  hearts  com- 
forted. It  was  in  such  work  Father  Doyle 
spent  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  priesthood, 
and  how  acceptable  to  the  clergy  and  how 
fruitful  to  the  people  his  ministry  was  is 
proved  by  the  love  and  esteem  that  followed 
him  into  other  fields,  and  we  cannot  doubt 
that  as  he  went  forth  to  meet  his  Judge,  he 
saw  many  a  face  around  the  dread  tribu- 
nal that  bare  witness  for  him  and  for  the 
zeal  with  which  he  had  preached  deliver- 
ance to  the  captives  and  the  acceptable  day 
of  the  Lord. 


276  Altar  and  Priest 

III. 

From  his  work  in  the  missions  Father 
Doyle  was  taken  to  administer  the  Catholic 
World  and  the  publishing  house  conducted 
by  the  Paulists.  From  the  very  beginning 
they  had  recognized  the  possibilities  of  the 
printing  press,  and  by  means  of  period- 
ical literature,  books  and  leaflets  had  for- 
warded their  apostolate  to  non-Catholics. 
For  seven  years  Father  Doyle  gave  himself, 
with  characteristic  energy,  to  this  depart- 
ment of  the  society's  activities,  and  his  name 
will  rank  among  the  most  successful  of  the 
eminent  men  whose  industry  and  talent  have 
made  the  Catholic  World,  as  it  is  the  old- 
est, the  soundest  of  our  American  Catholic 
monthlies.  But,  after  all,  it  is  the  living 
word  that  counts.  Christ  did  not  send  His 
Apostles  to  write  books  or  even  to  build 
churches.  He  sent  them  to  preach :  ^^Go  ye 
into  the  whole  world  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature."  The  dearest  wish  of  the 
Paulist  heart  is  that  the  word  of  the  Lord 
should  be  unbound  and  that  it  should  be 
carried  especially  to  those  who  are  not  of 
the  Catholic  fold. 


The  Faithful  Servant  277 

Now,  it  had  been  found  by  experience 
that  almost  at  every  one  of  the  domestic 
missions  Protestants,  attracted  for  one  rea- 
son or  another  to  the  preaching,  had  been 
received  into  the  Church.  It  occurred  ac- 
cordingly to  Father  Elliott  and  to  Father 
Doyle  that  a  special  appeal  to  the  non- 
Catholic  population  might  have  favorable 
results.  The  idea  was  thoroughly  canvassed, 
approved  and  advocated,  and  thus  the  so- 
called  missions  to  non-Catholics  came  into 
operation. 

The  essential  idea  of  those  missions  is 
not  controversy  or  aggression,  but  a  simple 
and  friendly  explanation  of  Catholic  truth. 
They  are  usually  given  after  the  regular 
mission,  and  have  proved  beneficial,  not 
alone  for  those  outside  the  fold,  but  most 
useful  for  Catholics  themselves,  who  have 
found  in  them  answers  to  difficulties  not 
only  proposed  by  their  Protestant  friends, 
but  arising  from  their  own  circumstances, 
especially  from  a  system  of  education  and 
reading  in  which  religion  forms  too  small 
a  part. 

But,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  our  Lord,  the 
harvest  was  great  and  the  laborers  few.  The 


278  Altar  and  Priest 

Paulists  were  never  a  large  body,  and  all 
around  them  lay  the  whitening  fields  crying 
for  the  laborers.  The  diocesan  activity  of 
Catholicism  in  this  country  had  up  to  this 
been  absorbed  in  building  churches,  found- 
ing schools,  establishing  charities,  financing 
a  vast  and  expensive  organization.  In  many 
places,  however,  the  pioneer  work  had  been 
done,  and  well  done,  and  it  was  felt  that 
the  time  had  come  when  the  diocesan  clergy 
should' engage  in  the  propagandist  field  of 
church  endeavor.  To  encourage  this  feel- 
ing, to  organize  it  and  to  provide  the  ma- 
chinery to  make  it  permanent,  was  the  life 
work  of  Father  Doyle. 

It  was  fitting  that  the  Catholic  Church, 
which  is  the  preserver  of  learning  and  the 
mother  of  universities,  should  have  in  this 
country  a  central  school  of  religious  and 
secular  science.  At  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Father  the  American  Hierarchy 
founded  at  Washington  a  great  seminary, 
which  the  generosity  of  its  benefactors  is 
developing  into  a  great  university.  It  was 
to  be  the  center  of  intellectual  Catholicism 
in  the  very  capital  of  the  nation.  The 
Paulists  were  the  first  of  the  religious  com- 


The  Faithful  Servant  279 

munities  to  erect  their  house  of  studies 
under  its  shadow,  and  here  it  was  that 
Father  Doyle  founded  the  mission  house  to 
train  the  diocesan  clergy  for  the  non- 
Catholic  missions. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  hard  Father 
Doyle  labored  for  that  institution.  He 
never  spared  himself  in  any  work  that  his 
hand  found  to  do,  but  here  he  literally 
wore  himself  out,  and-  his  life  was  the  sac- 
rifice that  bought  its  success.  It  is  already 
self-supporting,  and  will  remain  a  monu- 
ment more  lasting  than  brass  to  his  energy 
and  zeal. 

Now  his  busy  hands  are  at  rest  forever, 
and  his  tireless  feet  can  no  longer  hasten  in 
the  ways  of  the  Lord.  He  has  nothing  to 
ask  from  us  but  the  charity  of  our  prayers, 
our  almsdeeds  and  our  sacrifices.  This 
generation  that  knew  him  will  pass  away, 
but  the  work  he  has  founded  will  not  pass 
away.  America  needs  the  Catholic  Church. 
He  drank  in  full  measure  the  spirit  of  the 
pioneers  of  his  order,  and  he  knew  that  a 
great  nation  demands  a  great  religion.  Not 
by  bread  alone  doth  man  live,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 


28o  Altar  and  Priest 

God,  and  there  is  no  organization  that  can 
come  before  the  American  people  and  speak 
the  word  of  God  with  that  authority  that 
compels  respect  except  the  Catholic  Church, 
of  which  Alexander  Doyle  was  a  good  and 
faithful  priest.  May  he  rest  in  peace. 
Among  the  natives  of  this  city  and  state  are 
many  whose  names  will  live  in  history,  and 
not  the  least  of  them  will  be  that  of  him 
who  lies  before  us  to-day,  for  whom  we  pray 
that  the  angels  of  God  may  lead  him  into 
Paradise  and  that  the  promise  of  the  Master 
may  be  fulfilled,  ^^Where  I  am  there  also 
shall  My  servant  be." 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD 


The  Funeral  of  the  Rev,  J.  B.  McNally,  St.  Patrick's 
Church,  Oakland,   Cal,  Mondaxf,  March  3,   1913. 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD 

Even  to  us  who  have  been  born  in  the 
household  of  the  Faith  the  liturgy  of  Holy- 
Church  seems  at  times  to  strike  a  discordant 
note.  Yesterday  in  the  mid-gloom  of  Lent 
the  Mass  began  with  a  song  of  rejoicing, 
and  on  the  very  eve  of  the  tragedy  of  Good 
Friday  the  ^^Gloria"  is  chanted  and  the  bells 
are  rung.  So,  on  this  occasion,  when  we, 
his  fellow  priests,  gather  to  mourn  a  gal- 
lant comrade  who  has  answered  the  last 
roll  call,  and  when  you,  his  parishioners 
and  fellow  citizens,  come  to  deplore  a  loss 
to  Church  and  city  that  it  will  be  hard  to 
fill,  amidst  all  the  lamentation  there  is  a 
steadfast  note  of  hope,  and  at  the  very  mo- 
ment of  the  apparent  victory  of  the  grave, 
when  ashes  are  committed  to  ashes  and 
earth  to  earth,  the  Church  intones  the  trium- 
phant canticle  of  Zachary  and  blesses  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel  because  He  hath  visited 
and  wrought  the  redemption  of  His  people. 

If  these  sentiments  are  justified  in  the 
case  of  the  faithful — for  it  is  the  same  Mass 


284  Altar  and  Priest 

that  is  sung  for  layman  as  well  as  clerk — 
they  are  doubly  justified  in  the  case  of  a 
priest.  The  priest  is  the  servant  of  the  Great 
King  sent  into  this  world  on  the  King's  busi- 
ness. The  Master  of  the  house  ha?  set  His 
supper,  and  behold,  they  that  were  invited 
have  refused  to  come.  Then  the  Master 
has  sent  out  his  servants  into  the  streets  and 
into  the  lanes  of  the  city  to  bring  in  the 
poor  and  the  feeble  and  the  blind  and  the 
lame.  Aye,  he  has  sent  them  into  the  high- 
ways and  the  hedges  to  compel  them  to 
come  in  that  His  house  may  be  filled.  This 
is  the  priest's  work  in  the  world — to  carry 
the  invitation  to  mankind.  An  ungrateful 
work  it  is,  for  many  are  they  who  have  ears 
to  hear  and  will  not  hear.  Many  are  they 
who  turn  on  the  messengers  and  evil  entreat 
them.  Moreover,  the  streets  are  cold  and 
the  lanes  are  noisome,  the  highways  are 
rough  and  the  hedges  thorny,  and  it  is  no 
pleasant  task  to  compel  the  unwilling  to 
come  in. 

So,  therefore,  when  the  servant's  task  is 
done,  and  he  has  received  his  Master's  sum- 
mons to  return  to  the  supper  room,  the 
message  falls  on  no  ungrateful  ears.    Who 


The  Good  Shepherd  285 

would  regret  the  mire  of  the  market  place 
and  the  dust  of  the  dreary  road  when  called 
to  the  table  of  the  King  and  the  companion- 
ship of  the  saints?  Why  should  we  be  sor- 
rowfuf,  on  his  behalf,  who  remain  to  fulfill 
our  unfinished  tasks,  or  mourn  as  those  who 
have  no  hope?  He  has  not  gone  into  a 
strange  country,  but  into  his  Father's  house ; 
and 

Home  is  the  sailor,  home  from  the  sea, 
And  the  hunter  home  from  the  hill. 

Of  course,  such  an  attitude  towards  death 
is  the  very  flower  of  faith — of  that  faith 
which  is  the  substance  of  things  to  be  hoped 
for,  the  evidence  of  things  unseen.  No 
other  attitude  would  be  becoming  to  the 
priest  whose  remains  lies  before  us.  Father 
McNally  was,  above  and  beyond  all  things, 
a  man  of  the  liveliest  faith.  He  inherited 
in  full  measure  and  overflowing  the  strong 
faith  of  his  Irish  forefathers,  who  wrought 
justice  thereby  and  obtained  promises, 
stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong, 
waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the 


286  Altar  and  Priest 

armies  of  the  aliens,  endured  also  mock- 
eries and  stripes,  yea,  and  bonds  and  impris- 
onment— they  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy. 

Keen  and  shrewd  as  Father  McNally  was 
in  temporal  affairs,  his  ears  were  never  deaf 
to  the  music  of  the  choir  invisible,  his  eyes 
were  never  holden  to  the  cloud  of  witnesses 
that  hovers  above  our  head.  His  was  no 
dead  faith  that  believes  and  trembles;  his 
was  the  living  faith  of  the  child  that  holds 
his  father's  hand.  Like  the  Apostle,  he 
knew  Him  in  whom  he  trusted,  and  he  was 
certain  that  his  Lord  would  repay  his  con- 
fidence on  the  accounting  day. 

It  was  in  this  faith  that  nigh  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  he  volunteered  to  leave  his  country 
and  his  father's  house  for  the  missions  of 
California.  In  his  school  days  this  state 
was  still  reckoned  as  the  end  of  the  world. 
It  was  a  land  of  rough  mountains  and  of 
rougher  men.  Its  great  resources,  which 
were  to  throw  into  the  shade  the  richness 
of  its  mines,  were  as  yet  discerned  only  as 
in  a  glass  darkly.  It  was  not  till  the  eve  of 
his  ordination  that  the  railroad  linked  us 
to  the  East.    The  archdiocese  of  San  Fran- 


The  Good  Shepherd  287 

CISCO  stretched  from  the  Great  Salt  Lake  to 
the  Pacific,  and  while  in  that  vast  territory 
the  harvest  was  plentiful  the  laborers  were 
few.  Forty-three  years  ago  he  was  joined 
to  that  pioneer  band,  and  as  we  look  back 
now  and  estimate  their  deeds  we  can  say 
with  truth  that  there  were  few  who  de- 
served better  of  the  Christian  common- 
wealth than  he  whose  tireless  hands  are 
folded  to-day  in  their  eternal  rest. 

It  was  in  that  faith  that,  over  thirty  years 
ago,  at  the  command  of  his  superiors,  he 
began  the  work  of  building  up  St.  Patrick's 
parish.  At  that  time  there  was  little  thought 
that  Oakland  would  develop  into  the  city 
she  has  since  become,  and  there  was  less 
hope  that  she  would  be  a  stronghold  of  the 
Church  of  God.  The  Catholic  element  was 
weak,  and  the  bigotry  that  in  some  measure 
still  survives  was  then  rampant.  But  Father 
McNally  cared  little  for  such  things.  Here 
his  life  work  was  appointed,  here  he  gath- 
ered his  faithful  people  about  him,  here  he 
built  his  church,  here  he  established  his 
schools,  and  here  for  over  three  decades  he 
declared  to  you  the  whole  counsel  of  God. 

Such  a  length  of  pastorate  is  not  the  least 


288  Altar  and  Priest 

of  the  benefits  which  the  Church  confers 
on  this  or  any  other  community.  In  our 
system  of  government  the  hero  of  yesterday 
is  forgotten  to-day.  How  many  of  you 
could  tell  without  laborious  research  the 
name  of  the  Mayor  of  Oakland,  the  year 
Father  McNally  founded  this  parish — how 
many  could  name  off-hand  the  then  Gov- 
ernor of  California  or  the  President  of  the 
United  States?  In  a  system  of  such  rapid 
changes,  everything  that  makes  for  stability 
is  an  advantage.  The  pastors  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  are  not  here  to-day  and  gone 
to-morrow.  While  she  has  use  in  her  system 
for  the  itinerant  ministry,  the  ideal  of  her 
pastoral  care  is  the  shepherd  whose  own  the 
sheep  are  and  whose  place  is  with  his  peo- 
ple till  death  doth  them  part.  The  parish 
is  the  life  work  of  the  parish  priest;  and, 
considering  it  only  from  the  temporal  side, 
it  would  be  hard  to  place  too  high  a  value 
on  the  conservative  and  steadying  influence 
exercised  by  a  man  of  light  and  leading  who 
has  for  a  third  of  a  century  been  to  his 
neighborhood  a  preacher  of  the  higher  life 
and  a  witness  of  the  better  things. 

It  was  in  that  same  faith  that  Father 


The  Good  Shepherd  289 

McNally  went  out  to  meet  his  Judge.  Like 
all  of  us,  he  was  slow  to  believe  that  his  ill- 
ness was  fatal.  When,  however,  strength 
refused  to  return,  in  spite  of  all  the  reassur- 
ing words  of  his  friends,  he  realized  the  in- 
evitable. He  who  had  stood  at  so  many 
deathbeds  could  not  be  easily  deceived. 
The  thought  came  to  him  with  no  shock  that 
we  who  watched  could  discern.  He  met  it 
with  a  simple  dignity  that  showed  it  was  no 
stranger  to  him.  His  farewell  to  his  friends 
was  unaffected  and  sincere,  ^^Goodby  till  we 
meet  in  heaven."  He  looked  at  his  passing 
from  this  life  to  the  next  as  if  he  went  from 
one  room  to  another  in  a  familiar  house.  As 
he  fared  forth  to  eternity  his  feet  were  set 
in  no  uncertain  paths.  He  walked  not  in 
darkness,  for  his  faith,  which  shone  during 
life  like  a  light  in  a  dark  place,  ceased  only 
before  the  dawn  of  the  everlasting  day  and 
the  morning  star  that  arose  in  his  heart. 

Such  a  faith  naturally  begets  zeal.  Of 
him  the  inspired  words  were  true,  ^^The 
zeal  of  Thy  house  hath  eaten  me  up."  The 
captious  might  complain  that  his  zeal  was 
not  always  to  be  easily  squared  with  discre- 
tion, but  he  was  not  afraid  to  be  unwise  when 


290  Altar  and  Priest 

necessary  with  the  unwisdom  whereby  God 
has  chosen  to  bring  to  naught  the  best 
schemes  of  the  prudent.  Added  to  the  per- 
f  ervid  genius  of  the  Celt  was  his  own  ardent 
disposition;  and  at  times  the  combination 
tried  those  of  a  cooler  and  more  calculating 
temperament  who  forget  that  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  suffereth  violence  and  that  the 
violent  alone  do  bear  it  away. 

In  the  early  days  of  his  ministry  the  late 
Archbishop  Alemany  assigned  to  him  the 
task  of  collecting  funds  for  the  new  Cathe- 
dral of  San  Francisco.  Begging  at  all  times 
and  under  all  circumstances  is  a  disagree- 
able work.  Even  when  the  priest  asks  for 
a  church  or  school  that  is  growing  up  under 
the  people's  eyes  it  is  a  weary  task  to  stir  up 
their  generosity.  How  much  harder,  then, 
it  was  to  interest  the  inhabitants  of  the 
mountain  towns  of  California  in  a  cathe- 
dral which  none  of  them  ever  expected  to 
see!  Yet,  with  characteristic  energy.  Father 
McNally  began  the  campaign  which  later, 
under  the  leadership  of  Archbishop  Rior- 
dan,  was  crowned  with  the  splendid  success 
of  which  you  are  witnessess. 

But  it  was  in  his  own  parish  that  his  zeal 


The  Good  Shepherd  291 

burned  brightest.  ^^Aemulor  vos  Dei  aemu- 
latione,"  he  could  say,  with  St.  Paul,  to  his 
people — ^^I  am  jealous  of  you  with  the 
jealousy  of  God."  You  may  have  thought  at 
times  that  he  asked  too  much  of  you,  but  it 
was  as  the  eagle  enticing  her  young  to 
jfly,  hovering  over  them  and  spreading  her 
wings  and  carrying  them  on  her  shoulders. 
Tireless  himself,  he  was  liable  to  grow  im- 
patient with  those  who  were  not  equally  in- 
defatigable. Big-hearted  and  generous,  he 
could  not  understand  how  men  could  bar- 
gain and  haggle  when  it  came  to  the  service 
of  the  Lord  and  the  needs  of  the  sanctuary. 
But  it  was  in  his  care  for  the  children 
that  his  zeal  showed  best.  He  realized  that 
it  is  but  of  slight  use  to  build  great  churches 
unless  we  take  care  that  the  rising  genera- 
tion be  trained  to  frequent  them.  The 
future  belongs  to  the  children,  and  the  great 
battle  between  Christ  and  anti-Christ  rages 
over  their  education.  The  American  state 
has  been  forced  into  a  neutral  position,  and 
as  no  neutral  position  can  be  held  for  any 
time  the  American  state  is  now  being  pushed 
over  the  line  into  direct  hostility  to  our 
Christian  inheritance.     Day  by  day  school 


292  Attar  and  Priest 

and  college  and  university  are  becoming 
more  frankly  pagan,  and  if  we  would  seek 
for  the  true  reason  of  the  astonishing  growth 
of  materialistic  socialism  we  can  find  it  in 
the  instruction  for  which  the  state  pays,  and 
dearly  pays. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  the 
only  efficacious  means  of  inculcating  reli- 
gious principles  in  our  circumstances  is 
through  the  day  school.  The  home  has 
abdicated  its  teaching  functions  to  such  an 
extent  that  home  lessons  are  forbidden 
by  law.  The  Sunday-school,  even  at  its  best, 
is  a  poor,  pale  simulacrum  of  education.  It 
is  only  in  the  day-school,  where  the  things 
of  the  soul  get  at  least  an  equal  opportunity 
with  the  things  of  the  mind,  that  we  can 
hope  to  raise  our  children  in  the  love  and 
fear  of  God. 

It  is  to  the  eternal  credit  of  the  first  pas- 
tors of  Oakland  that,  though  their  parishes 
were  small  and  weak  compared  to  other 
parishes  in  the  diocese,  they  all  established 
parish  schools.  No  doubt  the  narrowness 
and  intolerance  that  sporadically  occurs 
even  now  in  our  Oakland  schools,  and  was 
then   the   rule   rather  than   the   exception. 


The  Good  Shepherd  293 

made  those  schools  an  absolute  necessity 
for  the  preservation  of  religion.  Father 
McNally  always  referred  to  his  schools  as 
the  schools  of  the  faith;  and  there  is  no 
doubt  but  generation  after  generation  of 
boys  and  girls  owe  it  to  them  that  now  in 
their  manhood  and  womanhood  they  enjoy 
the  priceless  benefit  of  the  Catholic  belief 
and  communion  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  speak  of  his 
countless  other  activities.  Of  his  interest 
in  the  children  after  their  school  days  were 
over,  of  the  religious  vocations  he  fostered, 
of  the  energy  with  which  he  promoted  the 
temporal  interests  of  his  people,  of  his 
achievements  as  a  pulpit  orator  and  a  public 
speaker,  of  his  civic  influence,  for  he  was 
emphatically  not  a  priest  who  locked  him- 
self in  the  sacristy.  ^^Nil  humanum  a  me 
alienum  puto,"  was  his  motto,  and  there  was 
nothing  that  made  for  the  benefit  of  his  city 
or  state  in  which  he  was  not  vitally  inter- 
ested. Raised  in  Ireland  in  the  Fenian  days 
the  old  Fenian  spirit  was  in  the  marrow  of 
his  bones,  and,  though  his  loyalty  to  the 
American  flag  was  deep  and  broad  as  be- 
comes a  man's  service,  his  love  for  the  old 


294  Altar  and  Priest 

land  was  the  tender  affection  of  a  child  for 
his  mother.  Indeed,  to  use  the  words  of 
one  who  knew  him  well,  there  are  few  men 
of  whom  it  would  be  possible  to  say  as  many 
good  things  as  of  John  B.  McNally. 

It  is  true  he  had  his  faults,  but  they  were 
all  on  the  surface,  and  they  were  so  near 
akin  to  virtues  that  we  have  no  fear  of  him 
as  he  goes  forth  to  meet  the  Judge  who 
takes  account  of  even  the  idle  word.  In  his 
long  service  it  is  but  human  that  there 
should  be  in  his  building  wood  and  straw 
and  stubble  as  well  as  gold  and  silver  and 
precious  stones.  According  to  the  Scripture, 
this  shall  be  purified  so  as  by  fire.  He  him- 
self recognized  his  failings,  and  his  last 
message  to  his  parishioners  was: 

^Tor  thirty  years  I  have  labored  amongst 
you  and  have  done  the  best  I  knew  how.  I 
beg  pardon  of  those  whom  I  may  have  in 
any  way  offended,  and  I  beg  of  you  all  to 
pray  for  my  soul." 

O  blessed  Communion  of  Saints  that 
binds  us  by  golden  chains  to  the  throne  of 
God !  O  comforting  teaching  of  the  Church 
that  we  may  follow  those  who  have  gone 


The  Good  Shepherd  29^ 

before  us  with  our  prayers  and  aid  them  by 
our  sacrifices!  Remember  him  to-day,  and 
every  day,  and  teach  your  children  to  offer 
their  innocent  supplications  for  his  soul. 
The  great,  generous  heart  is  stilled  forever ; 
the  eloquent  lips  are  locked  in  the  silence  of 
the  grave,  the  busy  hands  are  folded  in 
peace,  and  the  feet  that  were  swift  to 
errands  of  mercy  are  forever  at  rest.  May 
his  long  service  be  now  reputed  to  him  unto 
justice,  and  may  his  soul  find  solace  in  the 
Master's  promise  that  "Where  I  am  there 
also  shall  My  servant  be." 


AS  A  LITTLE  CHILD 


The  Funeral  of  the  Rev.  John  F.  Nugent,  Si.  Rosens 
Churcht  San  Francisco,  Ca/.,  Monday,  May  12,  1913. 


AS  A  LITTLE  CHILD 

There  are  so  many  unexpected  actions 
and  so  many  astonishing  sayings  related  of 
our  Lord  in  the  Gospels  that  we  are  not 
surprised  at  the  difficulty  the  Jews  found 
in  recognizing  Him  as  the  Messias  whose 
splendid  coming  the  prophets  had  fore- 
.  told.  That  he  should  appear  as  a  poor 
man — the  reputed  son  of  a  carpenter — is 
paralleled  by  the  charge  He  laid  on  His 
Apostles  that  they  should  become  as  little 
children  if  they  would  enter  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven.  You  have  often  wondered,  I 
am  sure,  at  that  scene  described  by  St. 
Matthew  when  the  disciples  disputed 
among  themselves  which  of  them  should 
be  the  greatest,  and  our  Blessed  Lord  took 
a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of 
them,  saying: 

^^Amen,  I  say  unto  you.  Unless  ye  be 
converted  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  Whosoever  therefore  shall  hum- 
ble himself  as  this  little  child,  he  is  the 
greater  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 


300  Altar  and  Priest 

You  will  wonder  the  more  if  you  con- 
sider the  destiny  of  the  men  to  whom  this 
commandment  was  given.  They  are  the 
Apostles,  and  they  are  to  be  the  rulers  of 
His  Church.  In  the  new  Jerusalem  they 
arc  to  sit  in  the  seats  of  judgment  and  reign 
from  the  thrones  of  the  House  of  David. 
They  are  to  confront  unafraid  the  assem- 
blies of  the  people;  they  are  to  withstand 
governors  to  their  face;  they  are  to  beard 
Caesar's  self  in  imperial  Rome.  In  the 
days  to  come  their  successors — Popes  and 
Bishops  and  priests — shall  hold  high  do- 
minion even  in  temporal  affairs,  and  shall 
sit  in  senates  with  the  noblest  of  the  land, 
shall  make  and  unmake  princes,  and  shall 
be  accounted  the  nursing  fathers  of  kings. 
Christ,  whose  eye  read  the  history  of  every 
age,  knew  full  well  what  weighty  matters 
would  fall  to  their  charge  and  how  many 
solicitudes  would  be  their  daily  burden, 
what  great  interests  would  depend  upon 
their  judgment,  and  what  momentous  enter- 
prises would  be  entrusted  to  their  zeal. 
Yet,  when  he  would  prepare  them  and 
their  successors  for  the  great  parts  they 
were  to  play  in  the  world  the  lesson  He 


As  a  Little  Child  301 

taught  them  is  one  of  childlike  simplicity 
and  humility: 

^Whosoever  shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  he  is  the  greatest  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven." 

And  as  the  experience  of  mankind  has 
justified  Christ's  choice  of  the  humble 
estate  into  which  He  was  born,  so  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  has  justified  the  advice 
He  gave  His  disciples.  As  often  as  the 
Church  has  leaned  on  the  reed  of  human 
power,  it  has  broken  and  pierced  her  side. 
As  often  as  she  has  put  her  trust  in  human 
wisdom,  it  has  played  her  false  and  has 
sold  the  pass.  As  often  as  she  has  relied 
on  the  riches  and  honors  and  dignities  of 
this  world,  they  have  betrayed  her  naked 
to  her  enemies.  No;  in  every  age  her 
strength  has  lain  in  those  simple  souls  that 
have  known  how  to  become  as  little  chil- 
dren. As  the  most  stupendous  operations 
of  nature  are  effected  in  silence,  so  proceed 
the  works  of  God.  As  the  pageant  of  the 
spring  marches  with  noiseless  steps  through 
the  land,  and  the  frost  binds  the  swiftest 
streams  in  the  hush  of  a  winter's  night,  so 


302  Altar  and  Priest 

the  prophet  found  God,  not  in  the  crash 
of  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  roar  of  the 
wind,  nor  in  the  violence  of  the  fire,  but  in 
the  gentle  zephyr  and  the  still  small  voice. 
God  needs  no  man's  help.  He  can  save  by 
many  or  by  few.  "He  hath  chosen,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "the  foolish  things  of  this  world 
that  He  might  confound  the  wise ;  and  the 
weak  things  of  this  world  hath  God  chosen, 
that  He  might  confound  the  strong;  and 
the  lowly  things  of  this  world,  hath  God 
chosen,  and  the  things  that  are  not,  that  He 
might  bring  to  naught  the  things  that  are: 
that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  His  sight." 

"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs 
is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven;  blessed  are 
the  meek,  for  they  shall  possess  the  land; 
blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall 
obtain  mercy;  blessed  are  the  clean  of 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

O  simple  and  childlike  souls,  now  as 
ever  ye  are  Christ's  coadjutors  in  His  work 
among  men !  On  you  He  relies  now,  as  He 
always  relied,  that  in  humility  and  peace 
ye  shall  gather  the  scattered  stones  of  the 
sanctuary  and  in  prayer  and  sacrifice  hew 
them  and  polish  them  anew  till  they  are  fit 


As  a  Little  Child  303 

for  God's  building  and  are  made  the  living 
stones  of  the  temple  of  the  Most  High. 

Such  a  soul  was  John  Nugent,  whose 
gentle  heart  has  stopped  for  ever,  whose 
kindly  lips  shall  speak  no  more.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  describe  adequately  his 
simple  yet  strong  character;  and  it  is  espe- 
cially hard  for  me  who  remember  so 
well  his  many  acts  of  kindness  and  who 
esteemed  him  so  high  even  to  attempt  it. 
Were  it  not  that  the  wishes  of  his  sorrow- 
ing sisters  are  to  me  commands,  I  would 
have  much  preferred  to  pray  in  silence  by 
his  coffin  that  he  would  be  mindful  of  me 
in  the  eternal  light. 

From  the  day  he  left  his  father's  house  to 
go  to  All  Hallows'  College,  and  afterwards 
to  Rome,  down  to  the  day  he  rendered  his 
soul  to  God,  I  believe  that  Father  John 
Nugent  had  but  a  single  interest  in  life, 
and  that  was  the  priesthood.  There  are 
men  who  can,  so  to  speak,  divide  them- 
selves and  apply  their  energies  to  various 
objects  with  success;  but  Father  John's 
character  was  too  simple  for  such  distrac- 
tions. He  was  always  the  priest.  His  out- 
look was  the  outlook  of  the  priest,  his  life 


304  Altar  and  Priest 

work  was  the  life  work  of  the  priest;  even 
his  innocent  pleasures  were  taken  in  the 
company  of  his  brother  priests. 

Whether  as  an  assistant  on  the  other  side 
of  the  bay  or  as  pastor  in  this  city,  first  at 
St.  Brendan's  and  then  here,  he  was  to  his 
people  the  good  shepherd,  tender  and  true. 
These  were  parishes  of  which  it  might 
be  said  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul  that  they 
contained  not  many  wise  according  to  the 
flesh,  nrot  many  mighty,  not  many  noble, 
but  they  were  made  up  of  men  and  women 
who  possessed  that  which  was  better  than 
worldly  wisdom  or  worldly  power.  They 
had  the  real,  old  Irish  faith.  They  had  the 
warm,  generous  Irish  hearts.  Their  tears 
tell  how  they  loved  him.  They  respected 
his  transparent  character.  They  admired 
his  single  eye  for  their  welfare.  They 
delighted  in  his  homely  words  and  ways. 
To  them  he  was  a  perfect  exemplar  of  the 
idealized  parish  priest  whom  the  Irish 
fondly  call  in  their  own  language  ^^Sagart, 
a  rum! 

Need  I  speak  now  of  his  affection  for 
the  young?  At  St.  Brendan's,  and  here, 
too,  before  the  fire,  the  schools  for  the  little 


As  a  Little  Child  305 

children  were  his  special  care.  The  effect 
of  the  fire  that  bore  most  heavily  upon  him 
was  not  the  dislocation  of  the  parish  and 
the  personal  hardships  of  uncongenial  sur- 
roundings, but  the  fact  that  conditions  did 
not  permit  him  to  restore  the  school.  In 
return  the  little  ones  loved  him  with  that 
artless  affection  which  is  the  right  of  him 
who  had  begotten  them  again  in  water  and 
the  word  of  life,  and  forms  the  sweetest 
consolation  of  the  true  priest  and  is  his 
most  acceptable  reward. 

Especially  beloved  was  Father  John  of 
the  clergy.  Most  of  us  are  at  home  only 
with  the  men  of  our  own  age  and  genera- 
tion, but  he  particularly  enjoyed  the  com- 
pany of  the  young  priests,  who  always 
found  in  his  home  a  warm  welcome.  He 
remembered  and  followed  the  precept  of 
the  Apostle:  ^^Let  the  love  of  the  brother- 
hood abide  in  you,  and  forsake  not  hospi- 
tality, for  thereby  some  have  entertained 
angels  unawares."  The  junior  clergy 
indeed  will  miss  him  most,  but  the  whole 
diocese  is  poorer  for  the  death  of  one  who 
most  resembled  his  Divine  Master  in  His 
gentleness : 


3o6  Altar  and  Priest 

"He  shall  not  contend  or  cry  out,"  as 
the  prophet  Isaias  described  Him,  "neither 
shall  any  man  hear  His  voice  in  the  street. 
The  bruised  reed  He  shall  not  break  and 
the  smoking  flax  He  shall  not  extinguish." 

The   gentle  simplicity  of  his   character 
argued  no  lack  of  intellectual  talent  and  no 
weakness  of   the  will.     Like  most  of  his 
co-provincials,    he   had   a   good   head   for 
business,  and  he  had  improved  his  original 
education  acquired  in  Ireland  and  Rome  by 
extensive  travel  and  by  a  special  fondness 
for  the  study  of  languages.    The  events  of 
the  past  seven  years  showed  that  he  pos- 
sessed in  the  highest  degree  that  nobility  of 
soul  and  that  steadfastness  of  will  which  we 
call  fortitude.    On  the  pastors  who  adminis- 
tered   the   neighboring   parishes — all    men 
in  the  prime  of  life — the  earthquake  and 
the  fire  laid  a  burden  that  it  took  all  the 
resiliency  of  youth  to  bear.  To  one  who  was 
in  the  last  decade  of  the  three  score  years 
and  ten  that  the  Psalmist  allots  to  man  it 
should   seem   a   calamity   too   great   to   be 
endured.    No  one  would  have  blamed  him 
if    he    had    declined    the    overwhelming 
task   of    rehabilitation    and   sought,    as    he 


As  a  Little  Child  307 

might  justly  have  sought,  an  easier  posi- 
tion in  which  to  spend  his  declining 
days.  But  under  his  gentle  demeanor  lay 
the  stern  stuff  of  the  North.  Before  the 
ashes  were  cold  he  came  back  and  built 
under  the  still  trembling  walls  the  sheds 
that  served  him  for  a  home  and  you  for  a 
church.  At  that  time  there  seemed  to  be 
little  hope  for  the  parishes  of  this  southern 
district.  Even  to-day  opinion  still  wavers 
as  to  the  character  of  its  future.  But  Father 
Nugent  never  doubted.  Here  was  he  set 
as  a  sentinel  and  here  would  he  stay  till 
authority  or  death  relieved  him.  More 
than  any  part  of  the  city,  St.  Rose's  Parish 
bears  to  this  day  the  marks  of  the  catas- 
trophe— picture  to  yourselves  what  it  was 
in  the  winter  of  1906.  No  streets,  no  side- 
walks, no  neighbors — when  the  work  day 
was  over  and  the  mills  closed  the  abomina- 
tion of  desolation  seemed  to  settle  down 
upon  those  gaping  ruins.  But  he  had  put 
his  hand  to  the  plough  and  would  not  look 
back.  One  by  one  a  few  families  returned. 
Here  and  there  new  houses  went  up.  Little 
by  little  the  nucleus  of  a  congregation  was 
formed.    After  three  years  of  natural  hesi- 


3o8  Altar  and  Priest 

tation  and  prudent  doubt  the  word  went 
forth  that  St.  Rose's  was  to  be  rebuilt,  and 
you  all  remember  how  from  far  and  near 
came  the  old  parishioners,  and  filled  this 
church  to  overflowing  at  its  dedication 
and  congratulated  Father  John  that  his 
brother's  work  and  his  own  had  not  come 
to  naught. 

The  province  of  Ulster,  where  Father 
John  was  born,  still  shows  evidence  of  that 
monstrous  system  of  ascendency  that  was 
riveted  on  the  Irish  people  by  the  penal 
laws.  There  even  to  this  day  the  two 
nations  face  each  other  that  for  so  many 
centuries  have  struggled  like  Jacob  and 
Esau  in  Ireland's  womb.  To  him,  there- 
fore, patriotism  was  only  another  aspect  of 
religion.  In  his  thought  faith  and  father- 
land were  one  and  inseparable.  Hence 
came  his  intense  interest  in  everything  Irish 
and  his  generous  support  of  every  enter- 
prise that  made  for  the  preservation  of 
Irish  nationality  and  the  full  freedom  of 
the  Irish  state.  He  was  especially  attracted 
to  the  movement  for  the  revival  of  the 
Irish  language,  for  he  felt  deeply  the  truth 
of   Spenser's   saying:     ''If   the   tongue   be 


As  a  Little  Child 


309 


Irish,  the  heart  must  needs  be  Irish,  too." 
You  all  know  how  he  showed  his  faith  by 
his  works.  Though  no  longer  young,  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  Irish, 
which  is  by  no  means  the  easiest  of  the 
European  tongues.  Nothing  gave  him 
greater  pleasure  than  to  say  the  prayers  in 
Irish  at  the  various  conventions  and  meet- 
ings where  he  was  always  in  request  as 
chaplain.  I  have  more  than  once  admired 
the  equanimity  with  which  he  sat  out  the 
sometimes  interminable  and  always  futile 
discussions  that  occasionally  arise  in  all 
societies,  waiting  patiently  to  perform  his 
office  of  saying  the  closing  prayer.  I 
believe  that  one  of  the  proudest  days  of  his 
life  was  that  memorable  St.  Patrick's  day 
before  the  earthquake  when  he  entertained 
Dr.  Hyde,  the  President  of  the  Gaelic 
League,  and  the  Rosary  was  recited  and 
the  sermon  was  delivered  in  this  church 
in  the  mother  tongue  of  B  rigid  and 
Columcille. 

But  why  multiply  the  lines  in  a  sketch 
that  no  one  can  adequately  make?  He  was 
a  simple,  gentle  man,  a  true,  holy  priest. 
Indeed,  no  better  summary  of  his  character 


3IO  Altar  and  Priest 

could  be  given  than  the  inspired  words  in 
which  St.  Paul  describes  the  qualities  of 
perfect  love: 

^^Charity  is  patient,  is  kind;  charity 
envieth  not,  dealeth  not  perversely,  is  not 
puffed  up,  is  not  ambitious,  seeketh  not  her 
own,  is  not  provoked  to  anger,  thinketh  no 
evil,  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth 
with  the  truth ;  beareth  all  things,  believeth 
all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all 
things.  .  Charity  never  falleth  away, 
whether  prophecies  shall  be  made  void,  or 
tongues  shall  cease  or  knowledge  shall  be 
destroyed." 

I  have  no  need,  I  am  sure,  to  commend 
him  to  your  suffrages,  brethren  of  the 
clergy,  as  he  enters  into  the  presence  of 
that  Judge  before  whom  no  man  living  is 
justified.  You  have  already  sped  him 
heavenwards  with  many  a  Mass  and  many 
a  prayer.  We  who  know  by  experience 
the  heavy  responsibilities  of  the  priest's 
life  have  learned  to  dread  the  scrutiny  of 
Him  who  demands  account  even  of  the  idle 
word.  We  know,  unfortunately,  also  by 
experience,  that  of  all  men  the  priest  is  the 
soonest  by  the  generality  forgotten.   There- 


As  a  Little  Child  311 

fore,  we  understand  the  necessity  of  succor- 
ing one  another  in  time  lest  we  call  from 
the  depths  and  there  be  no  ear  to  be  atten- 
tive to  the  voice  of  our  supplication. 

Neither  is  there  any  need  to  convey  to 
his  beloved  sisters  and  nieces  the  expression 
of  our  sincere  sympathy.  Father  John  was 
a  man  to  whom  the  ties  of  family  were 
exceptionally  strong.  His  affection  for  his 
sisters  and  their  devotion  to  him  were  sin- 
gularly beautiful.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to 
them  now — sad,  indeed,  but  still  a  satisfac- 
tion— that  they  were  with  him  when  the 
end  came,  and  that  to  the  last  he  was  con- 
scious of  their  loving  care.  In  the  face 
of  such  a  bereavement  words  have  little 
power.  We  can  only  offer  up  our  prayers 
to  her  who  is  the  Mother  of  Sorrows  that 
she  will  bestow  on  them  the  strength  to 
bear  their  cross  with  Christian  resignation, 
and  that  she  who  is  called  the  Comforter 
of  the  Afflicted  will  fill  them  with  that 
consolation  that  the  Father  of  Light  alone 
can  give. 

And  you,  my  dear  brethren,  his  friends 
and  his  parishioners — the  old  and  the 
young,    whom    he    so    tenderly    loved — I 


312  Altar  and  Priest 

beseech  you,  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul: 
*^Remember  your  prelates  who  have  spoken 
the  word  of  God  to  you,  whose  faith  fol- 
low, considering,  the  end  of  their  conver- 
sation." This  church  is  the  work  of  the 
two  brothers.  Father  Denis  and  Father 
John  Nugent.  Let  it  be  to  you  and  yours 
a  perpetual  reminder  to  pray  for  their 
souls.  How  often  and  often  that  cry 
ascends  to  the  heedless  hearts  of  men: 
*^Have  mercy  on  me,  have  mercy  on  me, 
at  least  ye,  my  friends,  have  mercy  on 
me  I"  Father  John  was  a  good  friend. 
Let  your  return  for  his  friendship  be 
earnest  and  continued  prayer  that  God  will 
grant  him  the  eternal  rest  and  the  per- 
petual light. 

Though  indeed  we  who  knew  so  well  his 
simplicity,  his  humility,  his  faithfulness, 
feel  more  like  praying  to  him  than  for 
him.  There  is  painted  on  the  walls  of  one 
of  the  chambers  of  the  Vatican  a  picture 
of  which  I  have  heard  him  speak  more 
than  once.  It  represents  the  great  doctors 
or  theologians  of  the  Church  as  the  genius 
of  Rafifaele  conceived  them  in  heaven,  dis- 
coursing on   the  mighty  mysteries  of   the 


As  a  Little  Child  313 

Divinity  and  justifying  God's  ways  to  men. 
Not  in  such  lofty  arguments  can  I  fancy 
my  dear  friend  enjoying  the  company  of 
the  saints.  Rather  do  I  see  him  surrounded 
by  the  little  children,  of  whom  the  Church 
sings  on  Holy  Innocents'  Day,  that  under 
the  very  altar  of  God  they  sport  with  their 
palms  of  victory  and  their  martyrs'  crowns. 

Ipsam  sub  aram  simplices 
Palma  et  coronis  luditis. 

And  now,  dear,  kind  friend,  goodbye — 
goodbye  till  we  meet  again.  After  all, 
what  is  this  life  but  a  long  series  of  the 
parting  of  friends.  Day  by  day  they  hurry 
past  us  and  stretch  out  their  wan  hands  in 
farewell.  The  declining  sun  and  the 
lengthening  shadows  warn  us  that  our  day 
is  far  spent  and  that  the  night  is  at  hand. 
Swiftly  the  darkness  descends  for  us  all, 
and  we  must  in  our  turn  depart.  Till  then 
goodbye.  ^^Terra  tibi  sit  levis."  May  the 
earth  lie  light  on  your  gentle  bosom  and 
may  your  blameless  spirit  rejoice  forever 
in  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  under- 
standing. 


FATHER  AND  FRIEND 


The  Funeral  of  the  Rev.  Peter  5.  Casey,  Si.  Peter's  Church, 
San     Francisco,     Cai,     Wednesday,     August     20,     1913. 


FATHER  AND  FRIEND 

The  duty  has  been  assigned  to  me  to  put 
in  words  the  tribute  of  your  respect  to 
Father  Casey.  I  would  indeed  that  the 
task  had  been  laid  on  other  shoulders. 
When  the  kindly  master  of  some  great 
house  lies  newly  dead,  his  servants  and 
retainers  weep  for  his  loss  and  in  weep- 
ing assuage  their  grief.  They  praise  his 
service  and 

"out  of  words  a  comfort  win; 
But  there  are  other  griefs  within, 
And  tears  that  at  their  fountain  freeze." 

His  children  can  only  think  in  silence 
by  the  vacant  chair  or  wander  noiseless 
through  the  house  of  death.  Bear  with  me, 
if  I  must  do  violence  to  myself  in  perform- 
ing this  last  sad  duty  to  my  father,  my 
brother  and  my  friend. 

Father  Casey  lived  and  died  as  your 
pastor — the  shepherd  of  your  souls.  Such 
is  the  name  our  Lord  took  to  Himself  when 
He  revealed  His  divinity  to  the  Jews  and 
foretold  the  great  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross. 


3i8  Altar  and  Priest 

*^I  am  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  I  lay  down 
My  life  for  My  sheep."  Such  is  the  name 
He  has  shared  in  every  age  with  every  man 
He  has  chosen  to  be  a  partaker  of  His  min- 
istry and  to  feed  His  flock.  Such,  too,  is 
the  vocation  wherewith  He  has  called  him. 
The  good  pastor  must  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  sheep — not  indeed  in  our  times,  except 
for  few,  in  the  swift  agony  of  an  hour,  but 
in  the  life  long  struggle  of  dying  daily  to 
himself  that  his  people  may  learn  to  live 
to  Christ. 

Five  and  thirty  years  ago  Father  Casey 
was  given  charge  of  this  parish.  He  had 
been  ordained  only  two  years,  and  it  took 
all  the  courage  and  faith  of  youth  to  face 
the  problems  of  a  vast  territory  and  a  pop- 
ulation scattered  and  poor.  When  a  pub- 
lic official,  such  as  a  mayor  or  a  governor, 
performs  with  ability  and  success  the  du- 
ties of  his  station,  he  is  judged  worthy  of 
all  praise,  though  the  office  has  long  been 
created  and  he  has  to  take  no  care  for  its 
temporal  upkeep.  But  the  pioneer  pastor 
has  not  only  to  administer  his  charge — a  by 
no  means  easy  task — but  he  has,  so  to  speak, 
to  create  the  very  office,  to  buy  the  land 


Father  and  Friend  319 

and  put  up  the  buildings  in  which  he  may 
exercise  it,  and  to  struggle  all  his  life  for 
the  means  to  support  it. 

Father  Casey  was  not  one  to  fight  his 
battles  over  again  or  to  make  parade  of  the 
ancient  scars.  But  you,  his  old  friends, 
that  remain — the  few  of  you  that  were 
with  him  from  the  beginning  and  were 
witnesses  of  his  coming  in  and  going  out 
among  you — you  can  tell  of  the  poverty 
and  care  in  which  these  foundations  were 
laid.  You  can  remember  when  the  bills 
poured  in  and  there  was  no  money  to  meet 
them ;  how  you  had  out  of  your  own  slen- 
der resources  to  tide  him  over  until  the 
parish  revenues  were  available.  To  some 
men  debt  is  an  anodyne,  but  to  him,  espe- 
cially in  those  old  times,  an  unpaid  bill 
was  a  source  of  anxious  days  and  sleepless 
nights. 

Is  there  any  need  that  I  should  detail  to 
you  the  measure  of  his  achievement?  For 
many  a  year  you  have  enjoyed  the  blessings 
his  devotion  has  bestowed  upon  this  parish. 
Behold  this  spacious  church,  whose  beauty 
he  loved  so  well — these  splendid  schools, 
all  these  buildings  that  in  a  fitting  manner 


320  Altar  and  Priest 

house  the  Sisters,  the  Brothers  and  the 
Priests.  It  is  written  on  the  tomb  of  the 
architect  of  St.  Paul's,  in  London:  ^^If 
ye  seek  his  monument,  look  around  you." 
With  even  greater  truth  here  is  Father 
Casey's  monument.  To  the  very  last  mo- 
ment his  care  was  lavished  on  it;  and  the 
extensive  improvements  just  brought  to  a 
conclusion  seem  as  if  they  were  designed  as 
a  preparation  for  his  burial. 

And  well  you  know  how  quietly  and 
gently  he  accomplished  it  all.  He  never 
drove  you  above  your  strength,  he  never 
harassed  you  for  money,  he  never  made 
boast  of  what  he  was  doing  or  had 
done.  In  silence  is  built  the  city  of 
God.  While  a  man  sleeps  and  rises,  the 
seed  he  has  cast  into  the  ground  grows 
without  care  or  observation,  and  the  trees 
of  the  forest  gain  their  increase  in  the  still- 
ness of  the  everlasting  hills.  Only  once 
was  he  overpersuaded  by  his  assistants  to 
employ  more  strenuous  methods,  and, 
though  you  nobly  rose  to  the  occasion  and 
he  was  proud  of  your  success,  I  do  not 
believe  that  he  was  ever  easy  in  his  mind 


Father  and  Friend  321 

for  having  laid  so  great  a  burden  upon 
your  backs. 

Few  even  among  the  clergy  of  the  dio- 
cese realize  the  special  responsibilities  that 
were  assumed  by  St.  Peter's  parish  from 
the  very  beginning.  The  ordinary  pastor 
finds  work  enough  in  his  church  and  school 
to  occupy  his  energies,  and  usually  his 
resources  are  hardly  enough  to  meet  the 
obligations  that  church  and  school  entail. 
Here,  however,  the  parish  cheerfully  un- 
dertook the  care  of  institutions  that  be- 
longed to  the  diocese  and  the  city  as  a 
whole.  The  Magdalen  Asylum,  which 
later  became  St.  Catherine's  Home,  was 
attended  from  here  since  its  foundation, 
and  the  slender  stipend  which  the  Sisters 
could  afford  did  not  go  far  to  the  support 
of  the  priest,  its  daily  Mass  and  frequent 
ministrations  required. 

The  City  and  County  Hospital  and  the 
Isolation  Hospital,  or  Pest  House,  have 
always  been  a  burden  on  St.  Peter's  Parish. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  duty  of 
the  municipality  to  provide  for  the  religious 
needs  of  the  poor  whose  care  it  assumes, 
it    is    outside    controversv    that    no    one 


322  Altar  and  Priest 

parish  is  in  justice  bound  to  make  good  the 
lack  of  such  provision.  These  institutions 
are  like  the  doomed  ship  slowly  drawn  to 
the  ^^Mount  Magnetic,"  and  their  helpless 
freight  is  gathered  from  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  Yet  not  only  has  St.  Peter's  Parish 
attended  to  all  the  sick  calls  sent  from  those 
institutions,  but  the  charity  and  generosity 
of  Father  Casey  was  such  that  he  provided 
them  with  a  Mass  on  Sunday,  that  the 
stricken  poor  of  Jesus  Christ  might  have 
the  comfort  of  the  Great  Sacrifice. 

But,  over  and  above  all  these  material 
provisions,  far  more  important  in  the  eyes 
of  God,  he  followed  St.  Peter's  admonition 
and  ^Vas  made  a  pattern  of  the  flock  from 
the  heart" — ^^Forma  f actus  gregis";  and  if 
to-day — I  speak  no  flattery — the  people  of 
St.  Peter's  are  the  flower  of  Catholicity  in 
this  town,  it  is  because  for  a  third  of  a 
century  you  have  had  the  example  of  a 
man  of  God.  If  your  children  who  have 
married  and  moved  out  to  other  parishes 
are  noticeable  among  us  all  as  the  staunch- 
est  pillars  of  the  Church  in  their  new 
homes  it  is  because  of  the  training  they 
have   received   at   the   hands   of   one  who 


Father  and  Friend 


323 


never  was  false  to  his  character  as  another 
Christ. 

Aye,  a  man  of  God,  another  Christ — 
such  is  the  true  description  of  Peter 
Casey!  As  you  know,  there  is  only  one 
priesthood — the  Eternal  Priesthood  of  our 
Lord.  But  as  the  one  sun  in  shining 
through  the  painted  glass  reveals  itself  in 
many  colors,  so  the  one  priesthood  mani- 
fests itself  according  to  the  character  of  the 
man  that  receives  it.  Moreover,  it  is  an 
old  saying,  "Like  people,  like  priests."  The 
nature  of  the  priesthood 

"is  subdued 
To  what  it  works  in,  like  the  dyer's  hand." 

Therefore  we  find  priests  partaking  of 
the  views  and  manners  of  the  communities 
in  which  they  live.  A  learned  people  will 
have  learned  priests;  a  simple  people, 
priests  of  simple  ways. 

This  is  a  business  community,  and  the 
parish  priest  especially  is  immersed  in 
business  conditions.  Yet  the  most  unlovely 
mind  a  priest  can  have  is  the  business 
mind.  A  priest  must  be  a  business  man, 
and    Father   Casey   was    a   good    business 


324  Altar  and  Priest 

man.  His  books  were  kept  with  an  accu- 
racy and  a  neatness  that  would  do  credit 
to  a  bank.  All  the  money  with  which  you 
entrusted  him  was  spent  with  such  care 
and  judgment  that  not  a  dollar  of  it,  I 
believe,  was  ever  wasted.  Yet  he  abhorred 
the  business  mind.  When  business  was  to 
be  done  he  did  it  with  all  his  might;  but 
when  it  was  finished,  as  a  man  will  cleanse 
himself  of  the  grime  of  a  journey,  he 
washed  the  very  thought  of  it  from  his  soul 
by  meditation  and  prayer. 

For  prayer  to  him  and  high  thinking 
were  as  the  marrow  of  his  bones.  A  priest 
is  called  to  be  a  man  of  prayer — not  indeed 
in  heathen  ostentation  or  in  singularity  of 
devotion.  There  are  certain  times  and 
methods  of  prayer,  some  of  obligation  and 
the  rest  the  free  offering  of  every  good 
priest.  Their  merit  consists,  not  in  their 
number  or  length,  but  in  the  regularity 
with  which  they  are  performed  and  the 
fervor  which  inspires  them.  I  never  knew 
a  man  so  regular  and  so  fervent.  When 
this  last  illness  touched  him,  he  com- 
plained to  me  one  day,  ^^I  cannot  pray,  I 
cannot  find  any  comfort  in  my  prayers." 


Father  and  Friend  325 

And  I  said  to  him,  ^^What  have  you  been 
doing  all  your  life  but  praying!  You 
have  been  always  preaching  confidence  in 
the  Sacred  Heart,  and  now  when  He  clasps 
you  close  to  His  bosom,  why  must  you  be 
ever  turning  your  head  this  way  and  that, 
like  a  frightened  child,  looking  into  the 
shadows?"  He  smiled,  and  I  trust  was 
comforted. 

He  was  of  a  singularly  tender  con- 
science. We  are  bidden  to  pray  for  the 
dying  that  God  may  not  remember  the 
sins  and  ignorances  of  their  youth,  but 
I  believe  that  few,  and  these  but  slight, 
were  the  stains  on  the  white  robe  he  bare 
from  the  font  to  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ.  He  had  a  special  fear  of  giving 
bad  example,  and  I  have  known  him  to 
worry  for  days  lest  any  misunderstood  act 
of  his  or  any  unconsidered  word  might 
have  disedified  his  fellow  priests  or  scan- 
dalized his  people. 

Indeed,  that  this  tenderness  of  conscience 
did  not  degenerate  into  scrupulosity  is  due 
to  his  sound  judgment  and  good  education. 
He  had  intellectual  gifts  of  a  high  order, 
and    always   kept    abreast   of    his    profes- 


326  Altar  and  Priest 

sional  studies.  He  was  of  the  few  who 
could  talk  understandingly  and  entertain- 
ingly of  books  and  travel  and  music  and 
art — of  all  things,  in  fact,  that  make  for 
culture.  His  attainments  were  shown 
especially  in  his  preaching.  He  made  no 
pretense  to  the  arts  of  the  orator,  but  his 
sermons  were  well  prepared,  the  matter 
was  full  and  accurate,  the  expression  was 
clear  and  often  remarkably  happy,  the 
language  was  chaste  and  elegant,  the  deliv- 
ery was  pleasing — in  a  word,  he  had  some- 
thing to  say  and  said  it  well. 

Above  all  he  loved  to  speak  to  the 
children,  and  in  this  most  difficult  art  he 
had  wonderful  skill.  He  could  hold  their 
attention  apparently  without  effort,  and 
they  delighted  to  listen  to  him,  especially 
when  he  told  them  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment or  the  Mother  of  God. 

He  was  slight  of  stature,  but  he  had 
infinite  grit  and  a  great  soul.  I  remember, 
some  twelve  years  ago,  a  sick  call  came 
from  the  Pest  House  that  a  patient  was 
dying  of  malignant  smallpox.  The  priest 
who  happened  to  be  on  duty  was  just 
ordained  and  entirely  without  experience. 


Father  and  Friend  327 

When  Father  Casey  left  the  room  with 
him  we  thought  he  was  simply  going  to 
give  him  a  few  necessary  instructions,  but 
instead  he  was  so  considerate  of  the  young 
man's  feelings  that  he  took  his  oil-stocks 
and  made  the  call  himself.  It  was  only 
afterwards  that  to  our  confusion  we 
learned  what  he  had  done. 

Yes,  the  grace  of  God  worked  with- 
out hindrance  in  him  because  his  nature 
was  the  finest  of  fine  gold.  He  was  a 
prince  among  men.  Generous  and  hos- 
pitable he  was,  with  the  fine  old  Irish 
generosity  and  hospitality,  which  his  good 
judgment  and  delicate  taste  kept  in  just 
bounds.  He  was  a  lover  of  nature,  and  his 
recreations  were  taken  on  the  mountains 
or  by  the  river  side  or  on  the  sea.  He  was 
Irish  to  the  core,  and,  though  as  in  other 
things  he  did  not  put  himself  forward  in 
societies  or  the  like,  every  Irish  cause  had 
his  intense  interest  and  his  hand  was  open 
to  every  Irish  appeal. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  his  tenderness 
of  conscience,  but  that  delicacy  extended 
into  every  relation  of  life.  He  was  always 
thinking  of  others,   always  considerate  of 


328  Altar  and  Priest 

their  feelings.  How  much  he  suffered,  for 
he  was  sensitive  to  a  degree,  nobody  can 
tell,  for  he  had  such  admirable  self-control 
that  we  of  rougher  ways  and  more  master- 
ful manners  only  found  out  by  now  and 
again  some  accident  how  deeply  he  had 
been  hurt 

He  was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  to  him 
the  one  unpardonable  sin  was  double 
dealing  or  meanness.  He  lived  indeed  in 
charity  with  all  men,  but  to  one  whom  he 
considered  as  guilty  of  any  baseness  the 
gates  of  his  frendship  were  forever  barred. 
Loyal  to  authority,  he  knew  how  to  assert 
his  own  when  the  occasion  required.  Most 
respectful  and  obedient  to  those  set  over 
him,  he  cared  little  for  external  honors  or 
the  vain  applause  of  the  fickle  multitude. 
He  was  most  observant  of  his  duties  as  a 
priest,  the  more  so  that  he  was  tenacious 
of  his  rights,  and  the  manliness  and  inde- 
pendence of  his  character  made  his  service 
the  very  flower  of  sacerdotal  obedience. 

How  shall  I  speak  of  him  as  a  friend? 
Ah,  forgive  this  selfish  grief!  At  a  time 
when  I  sorely  needed  a  friend  he  was  a 
good  friend  to  me.     God  rest  you,  Peter 


Father  and  Friend  329 

Casey,  this  day  for  that  and  for  all  your 
kindness  to  me  and  mine. 

God  rest  him  again,  for  neither  you  nor 
I  grudge  him  rest.  For  many  a  long  year 
he  was  seldom  free  from  pain,  and  his  last 
words  to  me  were,  *^I  am  very  tired."  Poor, 
poor,  worn  body,  God  has  given  you  rest! 
It  was  a  frail  bark  and  much  beaten  by 
wind  and  wave  that  crept  last  Sunday  into 
port  on  the  flowing  tide;  but  it  bore  safe 
the  pearl  of  great  price.  Hushed  are  the 
winds,  the  waves  are  still,  the  clouds  are 
gone,  his  rest  is  beneath  the  everlasting 
arms  and  in  the  light  that  shall  never  fail. 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)642-6233 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


MAY  11 1988 


HB 


^^r^ 


AUTODISCCIRC  fiuy^9'92 


VB   129(0 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CD^^^sfl557 


Laminate:  MATTE 


7971)96 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


